If I Was The One
by Browneyes916
Summary: Tommy is thrown off by the budding romance between Jude and his childhood friend Hunter. Longer description inside.
1. Raining On My Parade

**Description: Jude meets and falls for Tommy's childhood friend, Hunter Jones, who is in the music industry himself. Hunter is brought in to G-Major as a Producer to work alongside his friend. Tommy is thrown off by the budding romance since he has feelings for Jude himself, and knows the kind of guy Hunter really is. **

**You can view the video trailer for the story over at youtube, my username over there is the same as on here.**

**Basic Background info:**

**Jude is 17 going on 18**

**Tommy and Hunter are 24**

**Sadie and Tommy did date, totally irrelevant now though**

**Angie never died; but her and Tommy still used to be together**

**Portia and Tommy were never married but did date**

**Sadie and Kwest aren't together yet**

**The 16th and 17th bday incidents did occur as well**

**Everything else aside from those events from the show will be entirely made up or changed a bit to fit along with the plot of the story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Instant Star or any of it's character's. I may borrow some of the ideas and/or lines from the show, but other than that, this is completely fictional. The other character's ages are more or less irrelevant.**

**Chapter One:** Raining on My Parade

--  
_Who ever loved  
that loved not at first sight?_

-Christopher Marlowe  
--

Headphones hanging loosely on the side of her ears, Jude stands in front of the microphone with her body shifted slightly to the side. Tommy gazes through the thick layer of glass separating the two of them with a look of frustration on his face as Jude half-heartedly belts out the lyrics to her song. Feedback suddenly shoots through Jude's ears forcing her to shove them angrily down and around her neck.

"What the hell?" She screams frantically into the microphone as her hands instinctively fall and bunch into fists at her side.

"Do you mind singing the song with a little more _feeling_," Tommy replies into the intercom.

"More feeling, huh…how about this for more _feeling_," Jude shoots back angrily as she extends her middle finger towards him.

Tommy slaps a hand to his chest and feigns hurt, "Oh, that breaks my heart Jude," Jude rolls her eyes and removes the headphones from around her neck, places them around the microphone and mutters a quick, "Screw you Tommy," before exiting the sound booth.

"I can't work with him!" She declares to no one in particular as she steps out of the sound booth and stomps into the main lobby of G-Major. The girl certainly knew how to make an entrance.

Across the lobby Sadie sits behind the Receptionist's desk chatting away with Kwest, both of them ignoring the all too familiar outburst.

"I told him he was going to mess things up," Kwest manages to mutter in between the conversation he and Sadie are having. "I refuse to get sucked into this mess again," Sadie replies with a soft laugh before getting back into the topic she and Kwest were previously discussing.

Tommy steps out of Studio C, glares over in Jude's direction, and quickly walks out of G-Major.

"Stupid prick—"Jude trails off as she strides backwards, her foot making contact with a box in the process, and she looses her balance.

"Whoa!" She shouts out in alarm as she falls backwards and lands, twisted, into someone's arms, her back falling hard against their chest. "Whoa," She mutters again in a lower, less alarmed tone as she gazes up and her eyes meet with a mysterious set of dark brown orbs.

She stumbles around and out of his arms quickly and allows him to hold onto her waist for support as she tries to regain her balance.

"Hi," He says smoothly, flashing a wide grin in her direction. "Hey," She begins, trying to catch her breath that she hadn't even noticed she had momentarily lost until that moment, "you always come out of nowhere like that?"

"That's kind of my game," He responds slyly as he slides his hands inside the pockets of his leather jacket. "Your game," She asks intrigued, subtly eyeing him up and down, "who do you play for?" She sinks her teeth into her bottom lip as she continues to take him in; _tall, dark and handsome._

With a shrug of his shoulders and a flash of his teeth again the man replies with a swift, "Say I'm a free agent."

Jude nods her head as her smile slowly falters into a smirk of embarrassment, "And I'm officially lost in my own sports metaphor," She laughs and swiftly attempts to recover herself as she extends her hand out to the man, "I'm Jude."

"Hi," He smiles and extends his hand to take hers, a faint laugh leaving his lips before continuing with an introduction, "I'm Hunter."

"You here to see Darius?" Jude asks as she cocks her head in the direction of Darius' office. "Yeah…and well I'm also hoping he could hook me up with an old buddy…uh Tommy Quincy"

"Oh, how do you know Tommy?" She asks while lifting a hand to her hair and running her fingers through it.

"We grew up together,"

"Huh, well it's nice to meet you. He's uh…around here somewhere" Jude mumbles, not bothering to shift her gaze from the man in front of her.

Tommy was closer than Jude knew, but he had not been looking forward to a reunion with Hunter; not right now, it's been years. Nor did he like the interaction that was going on between the two of them.

"So you uh, want me to show you to Darius' office?" Jude offers politely while shooting a wide smile Hunter's way. "I'd like that," Hunter replies.

Tommy slipped back into Studio C unnoticed and decided to wait out Jude's diva fit. She'd come back into the studio when she calmed down; if she ever would calm down.

_I guess it's not everyday a guy finds a new way to break a girls heart._

Darius was on his way out of his office when he spotted Jude and Hunter heading towards him and instantly stopped in the doorway.

"Well, look what we have here, Hunter Jones. Good to see you again man," Darius shoots his hand out between himself and Hunter and slaps his palm against the other mans.

"Good to see you too D…good to be able to produce again," Hunter says in return as he shoves his hands back inside of his pockets.

"Hunter Jones?" Jude quizzes out loud, her brain trying to register why his name now sounds vaguely familiar. "The Producer," Darius says slowly, trying to help her out.

"Oh yes! And your sister is Angie Jones…used to sing back-up for Boyz Attack," She spits out as the horrible knowledge that stupid jerk Tommy has fed to her registers in her head.

"Yeah that's me. I told you Tom and I grew up together," Jude nods and smiles at the man. She starts to subconsciously feel like an idiot because that's all she's been doing since she stumbled into his arms.

"That's old news," Tommy says appearing out of the doorway of Studio C. He couldn't stand to leave Jude out in the lobby with Hunter for another second.

"Well if it isn't Tom Quincy," Hunter exclaims, his enthusiasm slightly lacking, however, he steps forwards and pulls Tommy into a quick hug anyways.

"Hey man, what brings you by?" Tommy's jaw tightens as soon as the question leaves his mouth as he pulls out of Hunter's arms. "D offered me a job here…I'll be Producing like the great Quincy," Tommy rolls his eyes, _I doubt that._

Interrupting the reunion Darius begins to speak, "Speaking of, Hunter, why don't you step into my office so we can discuss a few things…and catch up," "Absolutely," Hunter responds and soon he and Darius are behind closed doors, out of earshot.

"God Jude, why didn't you just do him in the middle of the lobby?" He snaps bitterly and he slowly turns to face Jude, who is already staring over at him with her head cocked to the side.

"Hmm, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were jealous, Quincy," She says while plastering a huge grin on her face.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm embarrassed for you,"

"Ha, okay…call it what you will...jealous," She coughs as she narrows her eyes at him. "Can't you ever make up your mind about me Tommy?"

"You're so seventeen. So damn naïve," His says with a roll of his eyes.

"Eighteen in a few months…and please, sometimes you act more childish than I do old man." She shoots back while crossing her arms over her chest and flinging a few strands of her blond locks from her face.

"Jude, you don't know the type of guy he is—"

Jude cuts him off, "Well there's nothing like finding out for myself right? Besides," she pauses for a moment and moves in closer to Tommy and brings her lips closely against his ear, "He's kind of cute." She steps away from him then, winks, and then turns on her heel to move into the sound booth.

"We have a song to finish, Quincy,"


	2. Jealousy Doesn't Suit You

**Chapter Two:** Jealousy Doesn't Suit You

--  
_Jealousy is said to be  
the offspring of Love_

-A.W. and J.C. Hare  
--

After getting the okay from Tommy that the song was finally complete, Jude strolls out of the sound booth and enters the control room through the side glass door. Tommy scribbles down a few notes onto the pages of an open notebook in front of him, so as not to forget his thoughts, as Jude is entering the room.

"That was definitely better than the take you did before your big diva fit," Tommy announces without making direct eye contact as the door shuts loudly behind Jude.

"What can I say; I must've been inspired," A smitten Jude declares while looking passed Tommy and out into the lobby where Hunter is stepping out of Darius's office. It takes everything inside of Tommy not to throw up the big lunch he had earlier.

Leaning against the soundboard Jude finally takes the time and gazes down at Tommy, "Do you think Hunter will mind that I'm seventeen?" She asks while running a hand through her hair. He wondered if it was supposed to be as sarcastic as it came out, and knowing Jude, it probably was intended to sting; and it had. Of course Hunter wouldn't mind she was seventeen—Tommy was interested in her, which was all the bait he needed to be interested. There had always been that unspoken competition between the friends, no matter how close they were.

Snapping the notebook shut Tommy focuses his attention on Jude just as she refocuses hers on Hunter, who at this point is making his way towards Studio C.

"Oh my god here he comes," Jude breathes out with a quick slap to Tommy's chest out of excitement. Tommy rolls his eyes and turns in his chair so that his back is completely towards the door Hunter is soon to come through and continues to stare at Jude.

Narrowing his eyes at Jude, Tommy mutters, "You really are _so_ seventeen," Jude rolls her eyes in return, soon replacing the pure look of frustration that had been on her face seconds before with a huge grin as Hunter strides towards them intent on entering the studio.

"Yeah, you seem to keep reminding me of that. And since you didn't answer my question, I'm assuming he won't mind," She manages out under her breath in response to Tommy's insult just as Hunter enters the room.

"Knock, knock," Hunter greets as he enters the room, acknowledging Tommy briefly with a friendly slap to his back before making his way over to Jude.

"Hi," Jude practically stutters as she steps forward to move closer to Hunter and stumbles over her own two feet.

"_Only Jude_," Tommy thinks as Hunter—of course—moves instinctively to catch her before she makes an even bigger ass of herself.

Jude lands roughly against Hunter's chest, releasing a loud "oomph" in the process. "We really have to stop meeting like this," He smirks while looking down at the girl in his arms and she practically melts in them.

Smiling back with this dumb perma-grin plastered to her face Jude straightens up in Hunter's arms, making sure her balance is completely back, before stepping out of them.

"You finished in here for the day?" Hunter asks while slipping his hands into his pockets and staring intently into Jude's eyes.

"I—I uh…yeah, I am," She stammers, instantly feeling her cheeks flush a crimson red.

Hunter laughs in a low grumble and smiles at her again, "Would you like to maybe grab a bite to eat with me," It comes out more of a statement, or a request, rather than a question, which leaves it for Jude to openly decide.

Before Jude can fix her mouth to respond Tommy is there butting in. "Jude, you have school tomorrow, and homework to finish," Jude continues to stare up into Hunter's eyes, only half listening to Tommy speak. "I do have to eat, Quincy," She says through gritted teeth while maintaining a smile.

"You can eat at home," By now Tommy is out of his chair and practically jumping in between Hunter and Jude.

"School is always more important. Besides, I'm sure your mom probably prepared a meal for your family or something already, my invitation was completely in the moment, but always open,"

Jude jabs an elbow into Tommy's side as he attempts to move even closer between her and Hunter. "That sounds great, maybe some other time. I'll let you know," She replies while Tommy continues to ruthlessly interrupt them. Mentally she had already kicked him in the nuts and punched him in the face.

"We should uh—double sometime!" Tommy shouts out. There's no way he wants to leave Jude alone with Hunter.

"_Of course you change your mind now_." Jude thinks, as Tommy's obvious actions point to jealousy.

Hunter ignores Tommy's outburst momentarily, "Do you dance, Jude," Tommy can't help but laugh out loud.

"The girl practically has two left feet," Tommy answers for her. Jude shoots him a quick glare before looking back up at Hunter, "I love to," She lies, smiling even wider inwardly as she knows she's pissing Tommy off. She loves to see him squirm.

"Oh man, Jude, you're lying right through your teeth, you—"This time she elbows him hard in the stomach, "You're not even old enough to get into any—" With another jab to the stomach Tommy decides to stop interrupting.

"That's going to bruise," He mutters under his breath as he steps away from the two of them.

"I know it's never wise to ask a lady her age, but…"

"I'm seventeen. Now before you start to lecture me like Quincy over there," She pauses for effect while looking over Hunter's shoulder at Tommy, "I'm very mature for my age, and I'll be eighteen in a few months. So there's really no big deal."

Hunter nods understandingly and removes his hands from his pockets to cross his arms over his chest. "Fair argument…I'll tell you what, we can double, like Quincy suggested, so it won't be weird for you to be alone with me so soon, sound good to you?"

"_No_," Jude wants to say, but instead she smiles and mentally kicks Tommy in her head again, "That sounds good. So we should go out—"

"Bowling," Tommy cuts in, causing both Hunter and Jude to turn and look at him.

"Bowling?" Jude asks dumbfounded, while Hunter stands back with a smirk on his face.

"_Well played Quincy_," Hunter thinks before shifting his gaze entirely on Tommy, "Bowling sounds fantastic Tom. We have a lot of catching up to do and I'll have to say, it would have been a little hard to do at a club."

"Definitely, see Jude," Jude glares at Tommy again and then shifts her face to look over at Hunter once more, changing her expression to friendly. "It does sound like a fantastic idea, but if I'm not mistaken," She turns to stare briefly at Tommy, "You're not dating anyone,"

Hunter laughs low in his throat while Tommy clears his, "That can easily be arranged you know…look at me," Rolling her eyes Jude laughs, "You're so full of yourself Quincy, it's sad,"

"Don't worry about it Tom, my sister will be in town this weekend, she's bringing some stuff I left behind when I moved. I'm sure she wouldn't mind accompanying you."

It was Jude's turn to feel something short of jealousy. Angie was going to be in town? Tommy must have read the expression on her face very clearly.

"Sounds like it should be fun. I haven't seen Ang in a long time,"

"Great, so then it's a date. Angie will be excited. Alright guys, well I have to head out now…but how about this Saturday?" Hunter suggests as he begins his descent out of the room.

"Sounds good to me," Tommy reiterates as Hunter leaves the room.

"Bowling…really Quincy?" Jude questions as she crosses her arm. Tommy smirks as he parrots her movement.

"What? No harm in bowling with some old friends of mine."

"You totally just…what's the right term here…cock blocked?" Tommy bursts into laughter as he clutches his stomach, "My my Harrison, such profane words. Be still my heart."

"Oh whatever, jealousy really doesn't suit you," She informs him while she begins to gather her belongings.

"Shouldn't you be heading home now? I think it's almost passed your curfew,"

"Go to hell Quincy," She spits out before draping her backpack over one shoulder and stomping out of the studio; slamming the door shut behind her for effect.

"Oh Saturday should truly be interesting," Tommy mumbles to himself as he plops back down into his chair and refocuses his thoughts on mixing.


	3. When the Lights Go Out

**Chapter Three:** When the Lights Go Out

--  
_Stolen kisses are always sweetest_

-Leigh Hunt  
--

Jude arrived at G-Major Saturday morning alongside Sadie who had been kind enough to offer her a ride. Normally it would have been nearly impossible to get Jude there before noon, but here she was standing in the lobby promptly at eight. She scanned the lobby briefly, browsing for one particular face but when she didn't find it, she felt a small wave of disappoint rush through her. Was he going to bail out on their date? With a shrug of her shoulders she followed her sister over to her desk in the reception area where she took her place behind the counter; Jude remaining on the other side.

She had hardly been able to contain her excitement about today, and now that it had finally gotten here, she felt that quite possibly she was going to throw up from being so nervous. She stood in front of Sadie leaning against the reception desk, completely oblivious to what her sister was saying to her. Sadie trailed off from her speech and began waving her hand in front of her sister's face when she realized she wasn't even paying attention to her.

"Um, hello, earth to Jude," Jude blinked and finally looked at her sister, "What? I'm sorry Sades, I don't know where mind is right now," She admitted with a laugh. Sadie smirked at her little sister and responded, "Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea of where it's at,"

Jude shot a playful grin back at her sister before bringing her elbows up against the desk and resting her chin in her hands, "Is it that obvious?" She asked pathetically as she began to look around the lobby of G-Major nervously.

Sadie nodded her head in response. "God, I'm such an idiot. Tommy is right; I'm totally just a stupid kid." Sadie laughed loudly and shook her head at Jude, "Why do you care so much about what Tommy thinks?" Jude's face twisted into embarrassment as the lie instantly fell from her lips, "I don't," She spit out quickly.

Sadie laughed again and raised her eyebrow, "Okay, you don't," she said sarcastically, dropping the topic immediately after saying so, and couldn't help but smile to herself when she spotted Tommy approaching Jude from behind.

"Hey super star, you're here early," Jude stiffened at the sound of his voice and slowly turned to face him.

All week they had gone back and forth between bickering like an old married couple to joking around like nothing had ever happened. That was how they were, how they had always been. But today, she didn't know what to expect from him. He sent her mixed signals, like always, especially now when it came to Hunter, and she had already formulated an assumption in her head that today the insults would be brought on once again about her age and anything else he could use as an excuse to turn her away.

"Yeah, I was up kind of early this morning, and since my car broke down last night Sadie was nice enough to offer me a ride," She said, forgetting that she had failed to mention her car when she called him last night to tell him she had made it home.

He had wondered why it took her a little longer than usual to call him, "Your car broke down? How come you didn't call and tell me that, I would have come and got you." Tommy ranted. Jude stood in place and pondered about whether or not she should tell him the next part.

Sadie stood back quietly observing what was soon to surely escalate into an argument. "These two fight about everything," She thought.

"It's okay," Jude began, as she stirred away from the reception counter and began walking towards hospitality for coffee, "Hunter saw me and called a tow truck, and then he gave me a lift home," She let the rest of her sentence come out quickly as she reached her destination; Tommy right on her heels.

"Hunter drove you home?" He asked while trying not to sound peeved about what she had just told him, "Why didn't you just call me?" He pressed as he fell into place beside Jude against the counter in hospitality.

Jude ignored him momentarily while she poured herself a generous cup of coffee into an awaiting mug and lifted the scolding hot substance to her lips. Ah, her daily caffeine fix would give her just what she needed to deal with Tommy like every day—energy. Lowering the mug from her lips but keeping it suspended in front of her face, Jude eyed Tommy cautiously over the rim of the mug.

"Because," she slowly began her explanation, "he was already there. I wasn't just going to say 'oh yeah you can leave me here, I'll call Tommy.' It was pretty late, I didn't want to bother you, and I didn't want to be out longer than necessary. So Hunter helped me out." She finished, once again placing the mug to her lips and taking a sip of coffee.

"Okay," Tommy mumbled evenly. Jude scrunched her eyebrows together and stared at him, "Are you disturbed by that for some reason?" Jude questioned smugly, slightly anticipating his answer. Why couldn't he just admit that he was jealous over the fact that Hunter liked her and she liked him back?

"No, why would I be disturbed by that? You got home didn't you?" Tommy retorted. Jude nodded her head as she finished off the rest of her coffee and set her mug down on the counter. "I did," she began, a hint of a smirk creeping up in the corners of her mouth, "eventually," she finished, leaving Tommy completely stunned momentarily as he watched her walk away towards Studio B.

"Wait a second," He called after her while jogging to catch up to her, "what do you mean by eventually?" He grabbed her gently by the wrist to stop her, and she turned slowly to face him; a wide grin spread across her face. "Don't get your panties all in a bunch Quincy; I was just messing with you. Hunter was a complete gentleman…." She paused and grinned wider, "despite my advances," the look Tommy gave her caused her to burst into a fit of laughter.

"God Quincy, you're seriously wound too tight these days. Nothing happened. We sat around talking and waiting for a tow truck for a half hour and then he drove me home and said he'll see me tomorrow…well, technically today." She stumbled over her words while recovering from her hearty laughing fit.

Tommy released her wrist then and continued to walk with her towards the studio. "I thought he didn't come in today," Tommy said carefully, entering Studio B behind Jude and shutting the door behind them. Jude dropped down into her chair in front of the soundboard and adjusted herself so that she was facing Tommy.

"You're right, he doesn't work today, but he's picking me up from here later today…for our date," she let her words hang in the air, and began to feel weird when Tommy didn't say anything right away.

"I could have driven you to the bowling alley," he said dismissively as he took his seat beside her at the soundboard.

Jude sighed and began to twirl around in circles on her chair, "He offered to pick me up, I couldn't just tell him no," she said in her defense.

What else would she be incapable of telling him no about? "Yeah, no it's fine. I'll just meet you guys there…Bowlerama right?" Tommy asked somewhat wounded.

"Yeah, Bowlerama," Jude replied as she stopped spinning in her chair and slowly rose to her feet. "So, ready to get to work?" She asked excitedly as she looked down at Tommy.

Tommy nodded and said, "Yeah, get in there big eyes," as he nudged his head in the direction of the sound booth. Jude shot a friendly smile in his direction before she ducked into the sound booth.

Nine long hours mixed in with a couple breaks later, their recording session was over for the day, and Hunter had arrived promptly just as he had promised the night before. Tommy had watched the two of them depart merrily from G-Major, side by side, after mustering up a friendly, "I'll meet you guys there," which he was sure neither of them paid much attention to.

Jude and Hunter enter into the alleyway and approach Hunter's black Lincoln Navigator. Hunter casually steps around her and pulls her door back. "Thank you, I could have done that by myself though you know," Jude says, feeling her face redden at his nice gesture.

"Nonsense, what kind of man would I be then?" He smiles and gives Jude enough time to hoist herself up into the truck and get situated before shutting the door behind her. He then makes his way around to the driver side and gets inside the truck. They both buckle up and Hunter starts the car soon after.

"Thanks again for the ride home last night, I appreciate it," Jude says thankfully as she shifts her head in Hunter's direction.

"Don't mention it; I couldn't just leave you stranded. Besides, I got to know you a little better while we were waiting for the tow truck." Jude smiled and focused her attention forward on the road as Hunter pulled out into the streets.

"So do you know who Darius is going to have you working in the studio with?" She hadn't meant to sound like she was prying, but she had been curious to know.

Hunter smiled slightly to himself and then cleared his throat, "Actually, Darius mentioned something about working with you," Jude felt her throat tighten up when the words left his mouth. It wasn't like she would have minded working with him, but when it came to her music, that was Quincy's territory.

"Now, before you say anything…D isn't trying to have me take over your album or replace Tommy or anything…he just wanted to see how you'd work with a change," Jude slid her tongue across her bottom lip as she shifted her position in her seat so that she was looking at Hunter once again.

"Well, I…I guess that's fine. Does Tommy know yet?" Even as the question left her mouth, she already knew the answer.

Hunter cleared his throat again, "No, he doesn't know yet, I was planning on—" Jude slowly cut in, "Let me be the one to break it to him. Maybe then it'll be a little…easier. I'm sure he'll be fine," She murmured, when in truth, she wasn't so sure he would be. Then again, maybe he'd be relieved to be rid of her.

They arrived in the parking lot of Bowlerama just as they had wrapped their conversation up, and after parking Hunter removed himself from his vehicle and made his way over to the passenger side to let Jude out just as he had helped her in.

"Thank you," Jude blushed as she set her hand into Hunter's and allowed him to assist her out of the truck, "Not a problem. My sister should be waiting inside, maybe Quincy beat us here," Hunter said as he flashed a smile at Jude. "Maybe," Jude replied, while hoping maybe he just wouldn't show up at all.

Hand in hand Jude and Hunter made their way to the front entrance of Bowlerama and continued through the doors. As they made their way towards the rental counter Hunter released her hand when he spotted his sister waiting off alongside the counter.

"Ang, you made it," He said excitedly as Angie slowly began to make her way over to them.

Jude felt her breath catch in her throat when she spotted the tall, slender brunette dressed in skin tight black skinny jeans with, as Jude had always liked to call them, hooker boots over top, paired with a grey silk tank and charcoal peacoat. Angie was absolutely stunning. Not in that usual model way, how Tommy had always seemed to like his women, but in that unique way that kind of just drew you to her. Jude felt instantly intimidated for some reason in that moment, and completely out of place in her usual faded ripped jeans and vest.

"Of course I made it, I'm not completely dense, besides your apartment isn't too far from here," Angie laughed in response as she gave Hunter a brief hug and stepped back to examine Jude.

"Angie this is Jude Harrison, Quincy's young protégé," Hunter introduced her proudly. Angie smirked and didn't bother biting her tongue, "Emphasis on the young," Jude felt her face scrunch as she glanced back at the older woman. Great, here's someone else criticizing her age.

"Bitch much," Jude thought silently as she flashed a false smile in Angie's direction, "I've heard a lot about you, it's nice to meet you," She lied as she politely extended her hand towards Angie, "Nice to meet you too, I was only teasing by the way. My brother hasn't shut up about you all week," Angie flashed a smile back at Jude as she shook her hand and slowly released it.

Turning to her brother she asked, "Speaking of Mr. Quincy, where is he?"

"He had some mixing to finish in the studio before he headed out; he said he'd meet us here," Jude replied for him. Angie turned back to Jude and cocked her head to the side for a moment, "Okay, well should we rent our shoes and stuff now while we wait?"

"Yeah, and then Tom can get his whenever he gets here. Sorry your date is running late Ang," Hunter said apologetically.

"Well, Tommy never was punctual," They all laughed in unison as they approached the counter to rent their shoes and get a lane. "And I think I recall his shoe size, so I can just grab them for him," Angie offered, and Jude found herself wondering what else Angie had known so well about Tommy.

"Well ladies, it looks like we lucked out tonight, tonight is cosmic bowling. It's basically glow bowling with music, they just wanted to get creative with the name," Hunter explained to Angie and Jude as they made their way over to their bowling lane.

Angie trailed slowly behind her brother and Jude and wondered when Tommy was going to get there; she had not signed to be the third wheel.

"I have a confession," Jude laughed shyly as she took a seat in their surrounding lane. Hunter smiled and sat down beside her, "First date and I'm already getting secrets out of you?" He joked as he nudged her leg with his own.

Jude giggled and bit her bottom lip, "I'm not so good at bowling…I'm afraid I might actually make a complete fool of myself," She admitted.

Hunter smiled as he removed his shoes, "Well you're in luck then I'm a bowling master,"

Angie couldn't help bursting into a fit of laughter as she sat in a seat across from them, "Don't let him fool you, Jude, that's just his excuse to get close to you if you know what I'm saying," Angie shot a wink in Jude's direction and giggled again.

"Oh my god since when did I become some stupid giggly school girl," She thought as she turned to stare Hunter directly in the eye, "You didn't need an excuse, all you had to do was ask," she whispered softly—maybe that would show him she wasn't some stupid kid.

"Oh, well, in that case," He said in response as he slowly began to close the distance between their lips.

"Ew gross, come on Hunter, please spare me the show," Angie begged as she dramatically covered her eyes.

Hunter and Jude laughed and pulled away from each other before their lips got the chance to meet. "Sorry," Jude apologized slightly embarrassed as she leaned forward and began to put her bowling shoes on.

After Jude and Hunter got their shoes on they pushed up from their seats and went on a search for a bowling ball to use. When they returned to their lane, Angie was still seated and still hadn't removed her boots.

"Aren't you going to play sis?" Hunter asked, as he took Jude's ball from her hand and set it down on the ball return wheel.

"You guys go ahead and get warmed up, I'll wait for Quincy to show," Came Angie's slightly frustrated response.

With a shrug of his shoulders Hunter let out a, "Have it your way," as he instructed Jude to grab her ball. The lights slowly flickered out then and the bowling alley illuminated with bright neon colors.

After Hunter punched his and Jude's names into the computer system he stepped up behind Jude and pressed himself closely behind her.

Tommy arrived at Bowlerama approximately forty minutes after Jude and Hunter had left G-Major. When he entered the building, it took him a moment to scope out his surroundings in the insufficient lighting until he spotted who he had been looking for. He could see from where he was standing, still near the entrance of the bowling alley, Angie sitting impatiently off to the side in one of the chairs surrounding the lane, while Jude stood at the edge of the bowling lane; Hunter pressed intimately up behind her while coaching her.

"Why did I get myself into this?" He groaned under his breath before moving forward and approaching them.

Angie spotted Tommy coming towards them and her face immediately lit up, "Well if it isn't Tom Quincy!" She exclaimed as she jumped up from the chair and quickly closed the space between the two of them, arms extended. Tommy offered a warm, genuine smile as he pulled Angie into his arms.

"Long time no see, girl, you look good" Tommy expressed warmly, giving Angie a tight squeeze before releasing her and eyeing her up and down.

Jude had managed to turn out of Hunter's arms during the exchange the moment Angie shouted out Tommy's name. And couldn't help but feel jealous over how Angie had lit up when she saw him, or how casually Tommy's use of the term "girl" left his lips, that was supposed to be reserved for _her_.

She didn't care, she was there with Hunter, and so far she was having a good time; Tommy was not going to ruin that for her.

"I know, too long if you ask me, and thank you, don't look so bad yourself" Angie said playfully as she stepped out of Tommy's arms.

"I'd have to agree," Tommy said in return as Hunter pulled away from Jude and made his way over to Tommy and his sister; Jude falling into step beside him.

"You show up late for everything you suggest Quincy?" Hunter asks jokingly while smacking Tommy softly against the back. Tommy laughs and turns to focus his attention on Hunter.

"Well, I thought I'd give you two _some_ alone time," He replied sarcastically with a smirk. "With my sister here, not likely," Hunter laughs out in response. "Hey!" Angie shouts while smacking Hunter against his chest, "I'm sorry I don't like seeing my older brother trying to make moves on a poor unsuspecting girl,"

Tommy stood frozen after Angie finished her sentence. Hunter had put moves on Jude? Well, at least he hadn't been there to witness it.

"So was it really your lame idea to go bowling, Quincy?" Angie asked with a raised brow. Amused, Tommy smiled and said, "It wasn't lame…I genuinely wanted to bowl." He lied pathetically. Jude eyed him from where she stood and rolled her eyes before shifting her eyes away.

She caught sight of a sign flickering off in the corner of the bowling alley and grew excited.

"Oh my god, forget bowling, let's do laser tag!" She exclaimed. Three sets of eyes focused on her and she instantly felt pea sized. "Sorry, it was just a suggestion," she said, attempting to shrug it off.

"No, that's not a bad idea. Ang doesn't look like she really wants to bowl and finally just admit it Quincy, you don't either," Hunter accused as he turned to look between his sister and Tommy.

Tommy chuckled and glanced at Angie, "I'm not really dressed for laser tag," Angie whined as she stared at Hunter helplessly.

"Well who dresses like a hooker when they go to a bowling alley," Jude wanted to say, but thankfully Tommy cut in before she had the chance to let that spill out, "Oh come on Ang, you'll look real bad ass. You can be my partner, and we can take these two suckers out," He said, nudging Angie in the shoulder with his.

"You think I look bad ass, Quincy?" She smirked as she questioned him, "Mm very bad ass," Tommy replied before turning to face Jude and Hunter, "let's get started so we can get Jude home before her bedtime," Tommy and Angie laughed in unison as Jude let out a sarcastic, "Ha ha," before linking her arm with Hunter's.

Hunter and Jude began walking in front of Angie and Tommy toward the laser tag "zone," Tommy watching the couple before him closely. The sooner this night was over, the better.

They entered the laser tag area together, the small group of them placed in a room with six other people, and given a briefing on the do's and don'ts once they got inside of the room. Individually they separated for a moment to suit up properly before rejoining their said partners. Before attaching herself at Hunter's side, Jude slid up beside Tommy and casually pressed her lips to his ear, "I'll show you bad ass," and with that she and Hunter disappeared into the darkened room, with a slight time advantage over Angie and Tommy.

With one hand grasped tightly on his gun and his other intertwined with Jude's, Hunter carefully maneuvered them through the dark obstacle course. He scanned ahead briefly, making sure Angie and Tommy were not insight before darting safely to one safe point after another. Jude kept up with his quick pace like a champion, the two of them mercilessly shooting the other people who had come into the room with them—Angie and Tommy remaining untouched, momentarily.

Together they ascended a ramp in the course and pressed themselves cautiously against the wall. "They're hiding in here somewhere…Angie probably can't function too well in her heels, and Tommy knows this…but we have to stay alert," Hunter whispered quietly into Jude's ear and Jude nodded in agreement. Releasing her hand, Hunter proceeded to move forward with caution through a dark tunnel illuminated with very little light. He could see movement out in the course through the provided clear windows along the tunnel.

"That might be them over there, you see?" He whispered, pointing to two moving objects on the other side of the room. Jude nodded in response again and moved forward behind Hunter. Being the not-so-graceful person she was, Jude slid down the ramp and Hunter, hearing the commotion behind him, turned in time to attempt to break her fall, as his back slammed against the wall and Jude fell hard into his chest.

"I'm sorry," She whispered, looking up at him apologetically. Hunter smiled warmly at her and chuckled softly as he brushed a few strands of hair out of her face. "It's okay," he assured her, as he began while slowly leaning forward and lowering his mouth to hers.

Their lips met briefly at first, and then began probing for more. Simultaneously Jude and Hunter loosened their grips on their guns and allowed everything else to fade away. Their guns fell at their sides, dangling loosely by the wire that attached to their vest packs. Hunter's arms snaked casually around Jude's back and his hands slid delicately up her back before his fingers inched their way into her hair; his hands soon after clenching fistfuls of her hair as he struggled to pull her closer. Jude moaned softly against Hunter's kiss and he took this opportunity to slide his tongue through the slight part that came with it. Desperately Jude clung to Hunter's shoulders as she kissed him back with everything she had inside of her.

Neither of them was quite sure where it would have led to, but certainly they had forgotten their surroundings—however, they didn't have the opportunity to pursue the adventure further.

Taking the opportunity to cease the private show before him, Tommy aimed his gun at Jude's back and pulled his finger back on the trigger. As Jude and Hunter stumbled out of each others arms Tommy smiled triumphantly as the couple turned to see who had just interrupted them. The look on Jude's face had been entirely worth it, even more so than the intruding in itself.

"Looks like we should get you home and to bed now little girl," Tommy threw out as he grinned from ear to ear.

Jude, lips swollen red and hair disheveled, shot Tommy a look that scared and turned him on all in the same shot. Placing her hands on her hips, "Oh I'm sure Hunter would _love_ to put me to bed," She shot back, and reveled in watching his reaction.

After the kissing incident and Jude's snide comeback, the four of them piled out of the laser tag zone.

"Man, my feet are killing me!" Angie cried out as she clutched Tommy's shoulder, forcing him to stop walking.

Hunter looked down at his watch and then up at Jude, "You hungry? I almost forgot I hadn't fed you yet. It's only about seven; you wanna head out for a bite to eat?" Hunter asked, Jude nodded her head and then turned her attention to Tommy and Angie.

"I could really use a drink," Angie chimed in, "How about we ditch the love birds and go to a bar or something Tom, catch up a bit?" She suggested as she slowly loosened her grip on his shoulder. Jude wondered how much catching up they had and what it might involve.

"She'll be safe with me, Quincy, I'll get her home at a decent hour," Hunter promised.

Tommy cleared his throat and looked over at Angie, "I'll take you up on that drink. These two can fend for themselves," he stopped and then turned to Jude, "I'll see you tomorrow bright and early though, big eyes…_I'll_ pick you up," Jude knew it was best to nod her head and agree to compromise. "Alright, twelve it is," she grinned and Tommy shook his head at her before laughing and saying, "I'll give you a break…I'll be there at nine," He said, almost sounding like he was warning her not to push it.

"Nine it is," Jude agreed, before she and Hunter went their separate ways from Tommy and Angie.

**I love to hear from the readers, let me know what you think...**


	4. Hangovers and Takeovers

**Chapter Four:** Hangovers and Takeovers

--  
_Decide what you want  
Decide what you are willing  
to exchange for it_

-H. L. Hunt  
--

**The Morning After**

Jude practically floated down the stairs and into the kitchen where Stuart stood at the island sipping a black cup of coffee and browsing through the morning paper.

"You're up early, it is a Sunday right?" He asked jokingly as he looked at the front of the paper, "Ha ha dad, yes it is. I'm just…in the mood to be up right now," she laughs as she makes her way over to her father and kisses him on the cheek.

Stuart lowers his paper and glances over at Jude as she pulls away from him and skips towards the fridge, "This wouldn't have to do with a certain man driving a certain Navigator now would it?" Jude blushes as she pulls the fridge open and takes the milk out.

"What would make you think that?" She grins at her dad as she bumps the fridge the shut with her bottom and moves back over to the island as Sadie enters the kitchen.

"Am I giving you a ride again?" She asks, glancing over at Jude. Jude sets the milk down on the counter and walks over to one of the cabinets to get her box of Lucky Charms.

She rises to her tip toes and struggles to get the cereal box from the top shelf and then shuts the cabinet doors before turning to look at Sadie, "No that won't be necessary, Tommy is coming to get me in about an hour," Jude answers as she continues to move around the kitchen to obtain a bowl and spoon.

"My oh my baby sis, juggling two guys are we," Sadie asks with a raised eyebrow as she makes her way over to a cabinet to get a coffee mug, taking one down for Jude as well.

Stuart lowers his paper once more and looks over at Jude, "Should I be concerned?" Jude shoots Sadie an evil glance before sitting down at a stool in front of the island across from her dad.

"No dad, no reason to be concerned, contrary to what Sadie just said I'm not _juggling_ anybody, I'm just having a good time," She paused and saw that he was about to say something, "But I'm being cautious, god dad I'm not a kid anymore," She says growing defensive as she pours a generous amount of Lucky Charms into her empty bowl followed by the milk; immediately digging in after.

Sadie pours herself and Jude a cup of coffee and watches in amusement as her little sister and dad continue their conversation.

"I didn't say you were, but you're still just seventeen," Stuart said, lifting the paper back up and resuming where he had left off.

Jude rolls her eyes as she lifts a spoonful of cereal to her mouth, "Blah, blah, blah that's all I hear dad, I'm not as naïve as you think I am," Sadie laughs as she sets Jude's cup of coffee down beside her bowl of cereal. "Thanks Sades," Jude says between bites.

Without lowering his paper again Stuart says, "I'm just trying to look out for you…the both of you, but okay, no meddling dad, I trust you," Jude smiles as she finishes off her cereal and picks her cup of coffee up and sips it.

"Thanks dad," Jude says sweetly and it's Sadie's turn to roll her eyes, "Okay well I'm headed off to work now. Dad, I love you," She places a kiss on Stuarts cheek and sets her empty mug inside of the sink, "Jude I'll see you at work," She announces on her way out of the kitchen.

"Okay, love you too sis!" She shouts, as Sadie shuts the door behind herself.

Stuart closes his paper and sets it down on the counter, "Are you two getting along these days?" Jude finishes off her cup of coffee and pushes up from the stool, "Yeah we're getting along great actually, we just like to tease each other," Jude answers as she makes her way over to the sink and sets her bowl, mug and spoon down.

"Okay I should really shower and get dressed dad. Have a good day at work, I love you," Jude plants a kiss on her father's forehead and jogs out of the kitchen.

An hour later Jude is refreshed and dressed in her usual attire—ripped jeans, button down shirt and vest and her trusty chucks. Just as she laces her last shoe up she hears the sound of Tommy's obnoxious viper coming from outside of her house. She pushes up from her bed, rushes out of her room and down the stairs, and snatches her bag up from the floor before stepping out the door.

She runs towards the car and stops before she pulls the door open and gets in, "Why do you look like death Quincy?" She asks as she finally pulls the car door towards her and plops down into the passenger seat.

Tommy groans and shifts his head in her direction, peering at her behind the lenses of darkened sunglasses, "Can you please keep your voice down just a little bit Harrison," Jude pulls her door shut, buckles up and then leans against the side of the door on one elbow.

She gazes over at Tommy and looks him up and down, "Are you still wearing what you had on _yesterday_?" Jude asks incredulously. Tommy groans again but doesn't answer as pulls away from the front of Jude's house and begins driving to G-Major.

Jude looks more closely at him and is in even more disbelief when she spots the red mark just above the collar of his leather jacket, "Is that a hickey?"

Tommy sighs and keeps his eyes on the road, "Yeah it's not a big deal, I'm sure Hunter gave you one," He spit out.

Jude sucked her teeth and slouched in her seat, making an "hmph" sound in the process before she came back with, "Yeah, but not where _you_ can see." Tommy secretly hoped that wasn't true.

The two fell silent for a moment before Tommy spoke up, "You kissed him," He stated and could feel Jude's eyes roll without even having to look at her.

"Yeah so what, we just kissed, it's no big deal right? You slept with her didn't you?" She asked, not wanting to believe he had, but already knew that he was stupid enough to have done it.

He was silent, "I'll take your silence for your answer," she said bitterly.

"Jude, tell me something, what can Hunter as a twenty-four year old man really intend to do with you?" Tommy asked, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

Jude shrugged her shoulders and let out a sarcastic laugh, "I don't know Tommy, what were _your_ intentions with me?" She spit out angrily.

"I didn't have any," He responded smoothly. Jude scoffed, "You remember last year? On my train wreck of a birthday, you kind of kissed me? You had no intentions then? It didn't mean anything, was it just a joke? Alright that's fine…thankfully I wasn't stupid enough to read more into it. Glad I wasn't stupid enough to make _that_ mistake." She said the last part dryly and looked away from him as he pulled into the alley way behind G-Major.

The second he parked his car and turned it off Jude was removing herself from the vehicle. She snatched her bag up from the floor of the car, slammed the door shut, and took off for the side entrance without another word.

Tommy waited a couple of minutes before he followed suit, hoping that would give Jude enough time to calm down a bit. But when he entered into the lobby of G-Major he spotted and watched a furious Jude stomp out of Studio B with her electric guitar clutched in one hand and an acoustic one grasped tightly in her other.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked angrily, while grabbing hold of her arm and forcing her to stop a few paces short of entering Studio A.

"You're no longer working on my album," She spit out indignantly before forcefully yanking her arm out of his grasp and proceeding to enter into the studio.

Tommy followed suit, "What do you mean I'm no longer working on the album? You're just kicking me off? Can you just do that?" Tommy asked dumbfounded.

"It's been done," At that moment Hunter appeared in the already tense studio. Tommy spun around and shot his friend a look that could kill.

"I see," Tommy began, "Hunter a word!" He shouted, before giving Hunter a chance to speak Tommy shoved him in the chest with one hand right back out the door, "Jude this doesn't concern you," he shot over his shoulder before slamming the door shut in her face and forcing her to stay in.

"You think you can just barge in here and take my gi—artist like that?" Tommy shouted angrily as he balled his fists up at his side.

Hunter grinned at Tommy, "What is this really about Quincy?" Hunter asked.

"What are you trying to get at Hunter?" Tommy retorted, wanting nothing more than to wipe that stupid grin off his face.

"Is this really about just an album or is there more beneath the surface?" Hunter asked accusingly.

"It's always just the music man," Tommy uttered back before walking away and storming across the lobby to Darius' office.

He entered without knocking, "What the hell D?"

Darius looked up from the papers in front of him over towards where Tommy stood in the doorway of his office, "Someone must be dying for you to be running up in here like that."

"I'm off Jude's album? Where you planning on giving me the heads up before Hunter had the chance to flaunt it in my face?" Tommy asked furiously.

"Is this really just about the album Tom?" Darius asked.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? You know what, never mind, I think I got it." Tommy replied, retreating.

"You're not off the album for good; I just thought it'd be good for Jude to—"Tommy cut in, "To what? Be sucked further into Hunter's web. We both know this isn't nearly as much about Jude as it is for that album. He's always tried to upstage me D. He's always wanted what I have, and always tried to take what is—"

"Yours?" Tommy looked over at Darius.

"I'm just her mentor," Darius cracked a smile and said, "Funny how you just assumed I was talking about Jude."

Growing frustrated Tommy asked, "Look, how long am I off her album?"

"Until I think it's been long enough. I'm not trying to torture you Tom," Darius tried to reassure him, "Fooled me. What am I supposed to do in the mean time?" Tommy inquired.

"Kwest could use some help on Karma's album, and there's this new artist," Darius explained. As if on cue—knock, knock.

"Angie?" Tommy asked stupefied, "What game are you playing D?"

"No game," Darius promised, "You know Portia is more or less pissed the hell off about how our relationship ended…oh I don't know, because I left her for Angie,"

Angie cleared her throat and chimed in, "Oh Quincy that's old news. Besides, you'll only be working with me until Hunter is finished with Jude, and then Kwest is taking over. I'll be out of your hair before you know it," She winked at him and smiled.

With nothing else left to argue about Tommy caved in, "Fine whatever, but this better not be permanent." With that he exited Darius's office, Angie hot on his trail.

"So last night was fun," She said, falling into step beside him. Tommy stopped walking and looked at her, "Look, Ang—"She cut him off, "Don't worry Quincy, I'm not looking for commitment." Tommy sighed and turned his attention towards Studio A where he could see Jude and Hunter engaging closely in conversation.

"You look like you just lost your best friend," Angie said softly.

Sighing again Tommy replied with a, "Something like that," before leaving Angie where she stood.


	5. Trick or Treat

**Chapter Five: **Trick or Treat

---------------------------------  
_Trick or treat…_

_Give me something_

_Good to eat._  
--------------------------------

The lobby of G-Major was full of the ordinary tension and commotion as usual, except it was Halloween and Darius was busting everyone's balls to make sure that everything was in order for his big Halloween bash later that evening.

Tommy and Jude had somehow successfully managed to avoid each other for the remainder of the month after their huge dispute that had led to their "falling out". Naturally Jude distracted herself with Hunter and the production of their song together, that it had made avoiding Tommy easier than she had thought it would be. Tommy had an equal share of distractions at his fingertips. He had completely put all his time and energy into helping Kwest produce Karma's album while balancing Angie's career launch and dealing with whatever their relationship had somehow bloomed into—all the while trying not to think about Jude. And between the both of them, the efforts they had made to avoid each other had proved effective—until today.

Of course it was all Darius' fault. If he hadn't been so hell bent on throwing his big mandatory soiree they wouldn't have been forced to cross paths.

Hunter and Jude stood off in one of the corners of the lobby, engaging closely in a friendly conversation as they assisted each other on hanging decorations. Across the room in the opposite corner Tommy stood closely beside Angie who was positioned on a ladder concentrating solely on hanging a banner, while Tommy watched and supported the ladder and stayed alert in case she were to fall.

Sadie stood behind her desk frantically adding and erasing names on the rough cut of the guest list Darius had put her in charge of. Taking a quick moment to calm herself from her frustrations she set her eyes on Jude and Hunter and then shifted her gaze to Tommy and Angie. Sighing and dropping her pen she made her way around the desk and marched over to her sister.

Jude's laughter gradually faded when she turned and spotted Sadie approaching her, "Hey sis, aren't you scared D will chew your head off if you're not hard at work on his guest list?" she joked as she set the roll of tape in her hands down onto the table beside her.

Sadie offered a crooked smile, "Yeah, so I need to make this quick, come here," Sadie said hurriedly, grabbing hold of Jude's wrist and pulling her away from Hunter's ear shot before she could protest.

"Dude, what's up Sades," Jude asked puzzled as Sadie released her wrist from her grasp, "This is ridiculous, when is this war, or whatever this is," she paused and motioned in Tommy's direction before continuing, "going to end?"

Jude released a heavy sigh and cocked her head back momentarily before looking back at her sister and responding, "Seriously Sadie, what is it to you? It doesn't matter…it's not a big deal. Hunter is working on a song with me and I'm dating him…Tommy is," She paused swiftly glanced in his direction before finishing, "wrapped up in Angie, he's fine," she said dryly. Sadie scoffed and rolled her eyes, "You guys are so pathetic it's not even funny anymore,"

Frustrated Jude crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at her sister, "Look the drama should fade eventually," she said.

"You're so delusional, Jude. Both of you are. Will you two just please admit you like each other and have sex already," Sadie groaned and Jude looked around frantically hoping no one had heard her sister, "Will you keep your damn voice down," she spoke harshly as she refocused her attention on her older sister, "I don't want Tommy, okay? I'm happy with Hunter…and Tom well…he seems whatever with Angie,"

Sadie laughed, "See, that's what I'm talking about. If you didn't care you wouldn't say things like that or even say it how it just came out of your mouth. Both of you have been doing that for so long, trying to pretend like your not phased by the others actions when it's so obvious to everyone else that you are…like the **real** reason why you guys had a 'falling out' in the first place. What the hell are guys so afraid of," Having felt like she made her point Sadie left Jude standing there.

Jude made her way back over to Hunter who was finishing up hanging the last of the decorations they had been assigned to take care of.

"Well our task is finished," He announced while turning to face Jude as she offered a half hearted smile at him and planted herself at his side, "Great, now we can get out of here. Are you hungry, because I'm starving," she exaggerated on the last word for effect as her stomach growled loudly, "See," she laughed as Hunter loosely draped his arm around her, "I have to go get a last minute costume, you mind going solo?" He asked as he placed a soft kiss on her forehead and dropped his arm.

Jude bit her lip and shook her head, "No that's fine. I'll grab some Thai take-out and head home to get ready and stuff. So I guess I'll see you back here in a few hours," she stated somewhat disappointed as Hunter nodded his head and stole a quick kiss from her lips, "Yes, we'll meet back up here in a few hours," he assured her before leaving her side and departing from G-Major.

Quickly Jude gathered her jacket and bag in her arms and darted through the lobby, breathing out a rushed "see you at home Sades" before disappearing out into the streets.

* * *

Sadie entered the house an hour after Jude had left G-Major, her stress level at its highest.

"Jude," She called out, hanging her coat on the wrack beside the front door before ascending the staircase after hearing Jude call out in response to her from upstairs.

Jude peered up from her carton of chow mein, slurping a dangling noodle into her mouth as Sadie entered her bedroom.

"Hey," she greeted as she set her carton down onto her dresser and pushed up from her bed, "Hey," Sadie responded, meeting her sister in the middle of the room.

"Are you getting ready soon?" Sadie questioned. Jude swallowed the remainder of chow mein that was in her mouth before answering, "Actually, I technically don't have a costume," She admitted.

Sadie stared blankly at her little sister, "You've got to be kidding me, it's Halloween and you don't have anything?" Jude shrugged her shoulders, "I thought I'd rummage through my closet and try to piece something creative together with my wardrobe and previous Halloween costumes," Sadie grumbled something under her breath and grabbed Jude by the wrist for the second time that day and pulled her out of her room.

"Ow, Sadie what are you doing," Jude protested as Sadie pulled her down the hall to her bedroom, "Getting you a proper Halloween costume. Nothing in your closet or in your wardrobe will do," Jude huffed, "No offense Sadie, but nothing in **your** closet will do," Sadie just laughed, "There's no doubt that our styles are completely different, but for one night, you're going to have a little fun," Sadie released Jude's wrist and Jude watched as Sadie disappeared inside of her closet.

One by one articles of clothing flew frantically out of the closet, "Should I be scared?" She asked, watching a corset fly across the room. A few seconds after asking that, Sadie emerged from the closet with a huge grin plastered on her face, "Most definitely," Jude's eyes nearly bulged right out of their sockets when they caught sight of what Sadie held in her hands.

"Oh no, I do **not **think so," Jude practically shouted as she attempted to dash from Sadie's room. Sadie was quick and tackled her to the floor. With a loud "mmph" leaving both of their mouths accompanied by an even louder thud, Sadie and Jude hit the floor. Sadie sat on top of Jude and stared down her triumphantly, "Come on baby sis, Halloween is like every girls excuse to dress a little risqué," Jude struggled beneath Sadie and groaned in defeat, "I seriously hate you right now,"

Sadie squealed, "Does that mean you'll wear it!" She shouted excitedly. Jude grinned from ear to ear and looked up at her sister, "Only if you let me pick out yours and Kwest's costume," Sadie pondered this a moment before pushing up from Jude and standing back up, extending her hand out for Jude to take.

"You've got yourself a deal baby sis," Jude slid her hand into Sadie's and allowed herself to be pulled up from the floor, "Good, I have to run somewhere, but have Kwest meet you here in an hour, I'll have your costumes," She sang the last of her sentence as she danced her way out of Sadie's bedroom.

* * *

When Sadie and Kwest made their way down the stairs and into the living room where Jude sat patiently waiting for them to reveal how they looked in their costumes, it took everything inside of her not to pee herself as she doubled over in laughter at their expense. Through teary eyes Jude gasped to catch her breath as she stood up from the couch and faced them.

"I must say Kwest, blonde is most definitely your color," she laughed and then focused her attention on Sadie, "and you…you don't look half bad with black hair sis," Sadie arched an eyebrow and clutched the small club tightly in her hand, "Don't make me use this," she threatened and Jude smiled and slowly backed up, "I don't recall Betty Rubble being violent," The look Sadie shot her only caused her to laugh harder.

"Will you shut up already and just go put your costume on, you have to hold up your part of the bargain," Sadie stated.

Jude nodded her head, "You're right. A deal is a deal. I'll go get dressed and then we can all head over together," and with that Jude jogged from the living room and darted up the staircase to her room.

Sadie turned to face Kwest and couldn't help but laugh, "I'm sorry I got you into this, I had no idea she'd dress us up as Flintstone characters," she apologized and watched Kwest smirk, "It's okay. We've only been dating a month and already I'm being welcomed with such open arms," Sadie smiled back at him and casually stepped into his arms.

"So what does Jude have to wear?" Kwest asked skeptically, just as Jude made her way back into the living room. Sadie stepped out of Kwest's arms and turned to look at her sister.

"Hey, that's not part of your costume," Sadie complained as she stomped her foot, "You just said I had to wear the given costume, you mentioned nothing about actually displaying it," Jude replied stubbornly as she yanked the strap of the trench coat tighter around her waist.

"You think you're so damn brilliant don't you," Sadie hissed. Jude grinned and turned to make her way towards the front door, "I don't **think** it, I **know** it," she shot back cockily as she pulled the door open.

Sadie shook her head and took Kwest's hand to follow Jude out the door. She was determined to get that coat off her sister by the end of the night if it was the last thing she did.

* * *

The trio arrived together at G-Major, filing into the lobby with the other guests. "Wow, this place didn't turn out half bad," Sadie expressed in awe as she took in the slightly dimmed lobby; strobe lights flickering every couple of seconds to lighten it up.

Jude nodded in agreement and began searching the room with her eyes for Hunter. It dawned on her then that she hadn't realized what he was dressing up as. She turned to Sadie, who caught her gaze and smiled, "Oh yeah…give him," she dug into her purse quickly and pulled something out and set it in Jude's hand, "this," Jude looked down in her palm and sucked her teeth, "You've got to be kidding me," she snapped as she closed her hand around the candy red apple. Sadie beamed and snickered, "I called him to fill him in on what you may or may not be wearing, so I'd look out for a teacher if I were you," Jude rolled her eyes and quickly departed from her sister and Kwest.

Tommy entered the lobby without Angie at his side, and of course without a costume. Darius had only said it was mandatory for them all to show, not that they had to dress for the occasion too, so he had opted out of that one. He spotted Jude in the corner of the room, as she had been earlier in the day—he had noticed—sipping aimlessly away at cup of punch. A part of him wanted to walk over to her, attempt to patch up whatever it was that had went wrong with them, but he was too much of coward to do it, especially now, and especially as Hunter stepped up behind her and snaked his arms around her waist.

The feel of strong arms wrapping around her body and hands resting intimately against her stomach, Jude turned around abruptly and spotted Hunter. "Why do you look so surprised? Were you expecting someone else?" He quizzed, shooting her toothy grin. Jude smiled and locked her arms securely around his waist and interlocked her fingers together behind his back. "No, you just surprised me," she replied as she tip toed to press her lips to his for a brief kiss.

As she pulled away from him she unlocked her arms from around him and dug inside of her trench coat pocket, "I believe I have something for you Mr. Jones," she said innocently as she extended the apple to him. Hunter chuckled and accepted it from her hand, "Well thank you Miss Harrison," he eyed her coat and grinned, "People won't know I'm supposed to be your teacher if you're hiding your costume," Jude shook her head and glared at him, "This thing, is not leaving my body tonight," she warned as she tightened the strap for emphasis, "Not even after hours," Hunter teased as he reached out and began to playfully toy with the strap. Jude felt her cheeks flush, "Hmm maybe if you're lucky," she winked at him before taking hold of his hand and pushing it away from her coat.

"You're a tease Miss Harrison, I think I might need to spank you later," Jude giggled, "Promise," she asked. Hunter smiled and nodded, "Definitely. But I need to leave for just a moment; I'm supposed to talk to D about something, so I'll see you in a bit okay? Try to behave," Hunter kissed her cheek and disappeared in the crowd of people.

Jude searched across the room, unconsciously scoping out the room for Tommy. When her eyes found him she found a soft smile spreading across her face. It was so like Tommy to show up to a costume party without a costume. She actually kind of missed him. She had almost gathered up the courage to approach him but just as she put one heeled foot forward Angie appeared from behind him and she instantly stopped herself.

Tommy turned quickly upon feeling a hand on his shoulder, "Whoa, hey Ang," he choked out, taking her costume in. Angie twirled in a slow half circle before turning back to him, "You like? It came with the handcuffs," she announced as she winked at him. He and Angie weren't exclusively dating, it was more of a sexual thing than anything, and Angie understood that and had been more than willing to take part in it—sometimes she was more of a man than he was.

"Well then, we might have to put them to use later," he said, gripping her by the hips and pulling her against him, "Mm yes most definitely, but this officer wants to party a little bit first, I'll find you a little later," she muttered as she pushed his hands away from her hips, kissed his cheek and stepped into the center of the party; getting lost in the sea of dancing people.

He had found himself looking across the room again for the second time that night, quietly watching Jude, who stood exactly where she had been when he was looking at her earlier.

"Oh what the hell," he breathed out and finally took a few steps forward in an attempt to cross the room.

Jude stood with her back facing the dance floor, sipping away at her millionth cup of punch. His voice chiming in from behind her had almost caused her to spill the contents of the cup all over herself.

Slowly she turned to face him after hearing his subtle "hey" from behind. Setting the cup down on the table she crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him.

Smiling faintly she spoke back, "What are you supposed to be?" Tommy smirked and shoved his hands inside his jean pockets, "A producer," he stated simply and found his smirk forming into a full on wide smile when Jude laughed out. He had missed her laugh.

"Well, I must say you play the part very well," she said as she uncrossed her arms and began to fidget with the strap on her coat, "Not well enough for you," he murmured.

Jude's hands fell at her side as she slowly lowered her eyes to the floor, "Tommy…"

Tommy immediately felt the need to apologize, "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. I didn't come over here to do this, promise. Besides, I'll be your producer again in no time," he said with assurance as he laughed softly.

Jude looked up and met his gaze again, "Yeah," she whispered back, "And what are you supposed to be?" Tommy questioned as he suspiciously eyed her up and down, a brief fantasy of her being naked under the trench coat crossing his mind.

Jude ran her tongue over her bottom lip and smirked, "A private investigator," she lied, "My ass," Sadie cut in from behind, causing Tommy to turn and look at her.

Jude narrowed her eyes at Sadie, "Why don't you show what's really under the coat sis," Sadie encouraged, "I'd rather die," Jude shot back through gritted teeth.

"Hey Tom…" Sadie began quietly, stepping closer so she could whisper something into his ear, "You grab the strap and I'll pull the coat off," Jude eyed the two of them skeptically and wondered what they were being so secretive about.

"Care to share," Jude said irritated.

Tommy and Sadie exchanged looks before replying in unison, "Okay," before Jude knew what hit her she was being attacked first by Tommy who snatched the strap of her coat loose with such an amazing skill the coat slithered open effortlessly and Sadie assaulted her from behind, tugging the coat down and off her so quickly she almost lost her balance.

After having accomplished her mission for the evening Sadie disappeared with Jude's coat in hand.

Tommy stood frozen, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, "Um…um…" he stammered, and Jude instantly became amused.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I'm just a kid, remember?" She teased just as Hunter appeared at her side. Tommy instantly snapped out of his state of shock and closed his mouth.

"Wow, you look amazing girl," Tommy flinched when he heard Hunter use that word.

Wrapping his arm possessively around Jude, Hunter turned and acknowledged Tommy, "Hey Quincy…you two finally make friendly again?" He asked, nudging Jude's shoulder with his own.

"Yeah," Jude mumbled over the music that must have been turned up a million more notches than it was a few minutes ago.

Hunter pulled her closer against his side and smiled, "That's good, it's about time. You wouldn't mind if I steal my girlfriend here for a dance now would you?" Tommy shook his head and muttered, "Of course not,"

"I'll see you later Jude," Jude nodded at Tommy as she allowed Hunter to escort her out onto the dance floor.

Releasing a heavy sigh Tommy turned his back to the dance floor for a moment to grab a cup of punch before he regretfully turned back around as Savage's "Swing" began to blare throughout G-Major.

_Oh shit, shake that ass, move it like a gypsy  
Stop, whoa, back it up, now let me see your hips swing  
Stop, whoa, back it up, now let me see your hips swing  
Now drop it low and let me see your hips swing  
Down to the floor now let me see your hips swing  
Down to the floor now let me see your hips swing_

Tommy watched uncomfortably as Jude and Hunter's bodies moved intimately together to the music; Jude's already very short skirt showing more and more skin with every sensual sway of her hips. He felt his throat begin to tighten and just as soon as he was about to tear himself away from the sight in front of him, he felt something snapping around his wrist. He glanced over and spotted Angie grinning mischievously at him, clutching the other half of the handcuffs that she had just snapped around his wrist.

"It's later sexy," she said with a wink as she tugged him away from the party and into one of the studios.

The music slowly faded out as Darius took the stage, microphone grasped tightly in hand as the room brightened up with light. "Is everyone having a good time?" Everyone in the room cheered loudly as they turned to focus their attention on Darius.

"Glad to hear that…my G-Major family and I have tried to put together a fun night for us all…which brings me to the next portion of the evening," Darius trailed off as Sadie climbed the stairs to the stage and took her place at his side. She politely handed over a clipboard and then descended from the stage.

"We're going to have a little scavenger hunt of sorts…it's not your ordinary scavenger hunt…instead of solely looking for items on the list, you and a partner will also have tasks you must complete, each task is worth different amounts of points and must be documented with picture or video, a cell phone will be provided to each team to allow them to do so,"

Hunter and Jude stood listening closely to Darius' words. He had made it seem a lot more interesting than when he had told them the basics earlier.

"My receptionist and I have randomly selected teams in advance…some of you may be partnered with people you don't even know, but some of the tasks may allow you to get to know them better…I'll start listing the partners off."

Jude listened attentively for her name to be called, and when she heard Hunter's name being called out followed by someone else's name, she felt slightly disappointed. "Its okay babe, maybe you'll get to meet someone new," Hunter encouraged, giving her shoulder a friendly squeeze. Jude smiled weakly at her boyfriend and continued to listen for her name.

"….and finally, Jude and Tommy," She felt her stop momentarily, "Random my ass," she thought silently as she scanned the room for Sadie, who she found quickly and glared at her before continuing to survey the room for Tommy. When she didn't spot him she wondered where he could have disappeared to.

Having a feeling he was being anti-social and hard at work in the studio, Jude excused herself from Hunter and made her way to studio A.

Without thinking twice about her actions, Jude stumbled into the studio and immediately regretted it the second she spotted Angie straddling and riding Tommy.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry," She stammered, quickly spotting her jacket through her sudden embarrassment and trying to redeem herself in the situation, "I uh…just came to get my coat," quickly she snatched it from an empty chair near the door and rushed out of the room, not pulling the door hard enough to shut completely as she went.

Tommy quickly stood up from the chair, Angie sliding off his lap in the process. "I knew this was a bad idea to do this here," Tommy groaned, frantically pulling his pants up and buckling them. Angie looked at him blankly; "It's never stopped us before…" she trailed off as she began to straighten her skimpy cop costume out.

"We should get back out there," he said quickly, exiting the studio before giving Angie the chance to say anything else.

He found Jude sitting alone behind the reception desk, flipping aimlessly through stapled sheets of paper. The lobby was nearly empty now give or take a few party goers.

"Hey, about that…" Jude looked up from the papers in her hands and shook her hand, "It's nothing, don't worry about it," she said dismissively as she lowered her eyes back to the papers; trying to pretend like she hadn't even seen it.

"Where is everyone?" Jude's head snapped back up once again, "Oh out on their scavenger hunt…you're my partner…we don't have to do this…it's kind of—"Tommy cut her off, "No, no come on. Get your coat on and let's head out," Jude nodded and pushed up from the desk, "Alright then, let's go,"

* * *

Tommy parked his car across the street from the darkened house and killed the engine and then waited for the headlights to dim out. Tommy took the list from Jude's hand and peered down at it.

**Task #8 Tee Pee a house/yard and capture it on video, 15 points.**

"Seriously, what are we five?" He mumbled out loud, "It figures you're no fun, I'll do it for the points. You can stay in the car and shoot the video from here if you want. Wish me luck," Jude said excitedly as she removed her heels and grabbed the twelve pack of tissue that sat at her feet as she ejected herself from the car.

Tommy watched with amusement as Jude ran barefoot across the street with the pack of tissue dangling in her hand. He hit the record button as she busted the bag open and took out a roll of tissue, dropping the remaining eleven onto the lawn as she unraveled the roll that was in her hands and threw the heavier end of it over a tree branch. The roll slithered back down into her hands after a banner of it wrapped its way around the tree. Jude continued her actions around the entire tree and then continued to do the rest of the lawn and part of the house before she darted back across the street to Tommy's car; her trench coat fluttering open in the wind.

Breathlessly Jude collapsed into his car and he immediately started the car back up and peeled away from the curb.

Jude burst into a fit of laughter as she buckled her seatbelt; "I can see the headlines now, pop star tee pees house in childish prank," Tommy smiled and laughed with her, "That'd be pretty funny," Jude calmed her laughter and picked the list back up.

"What's next on the list?" Tommy asked, taking his eyes off the road for a split second to look at Jude, "Umm it says…go to Bowlerama and the rest of your task will taped under a seat in lane five," Jude set the list down and looked over at Tommy, "You want to go there or just move on to the next task," she suggested, "No we can do this,"

They arrived at Bowlerama a few minutes after the tee pee task and quickly made their way over to lane five. Together they searched under every seat in the lane for the task, "Got it," Tommy announced and Jude made her way to his side. Together they read it out loud:

**Task # 9 the partner whose first letter of their first name appears first in the alphabet must** **remove an item of ****clothing**** that's a part of their costume and snap a photo in the photo booth (excludes: shoes, socks…don't be lame!)** **1000 points.**

Jude snorted and placed her hands on her hips, "Of course," she mumbled, "This has Sadie's name written all over it," she huffed, snatching the task card from Tommy's hand and marching over to the photo booth. Tommy followed completely intrigued, "Wait, you're actually going to do it?" He asked shocked. Jude removed her trench coat without answering him and slipped inside of the photo booth.

"You Mister Quincy stay out there…" she warned, and he obliged. He'd wait for the photo to come out the other end.

Jude slid the curtain shut behind her and stood in front of the screen, "Give me a dollar please," she demanded as she stuck her hand out the curtain. Tommy dug through his jacket pocket and successfully managed to find a wrinkled dollar.

"Here," he said, placing the bill into Jude's waiting hand, "Thank you," came her response as she pulled her hand back inside.

Tommy waited impatiently on the other end of the closed curtain as Jude stood inside the booth thinking which part of her limited costume she'd remove. Without further hesitation she pulled the tank top over her head, leaving the tie draped between the valley of her breasts, and sat it down on the bench behind her. Sitting at the edge of the bench she placed her dollar into the slot and covered her breasts with her hands in preparation for the photo. The first flash snapped and she removed her hands from her chest and quickly fingered her hair over the front until her blonde mane covered her nipples from view just as the next flash snapped. The last two frames she stood up and turned her back to the camera, pulled her hair over her shoulder to expose more of her skin, and shot a sexy smirk over her shoulder. Quickly she pulled the top back onto her upper body and slipped out of the booth.

"I was beginning to think you were having too much fun in there," Tommy said as Jude stumbled out of the booth as the pictures were preparing to print. Smiling devilishly at him she snatched the sheet of photos from the print slot and hid them from his view.

"Oh that's just not right," he groaned, "You can see them later…maybe, but let's get on to the next task. We have about an hour left before we have to head back, but I'm pretty sure not many people are going to do what I just did, so we're probably in the lead," She took her coat from his hands and put it back on, swiftly sliding the picture sheet into the pocket.

Together they continued on completing their given tasks and found themselves down to the final two. "Alright, well the last two we can actually do back to back…we just need to get you into a bar," Tommy said as he pulled his car into a parking stall and turned it off.

Jude slowly maneuvered her coat off of her and turned in her seat to look at him, "I'm Jude Harrison…and besides, **look **what I'm wearing," she emphasized as she ran her hands over her costume. Tommy chuckled and said, "True, so then let's go girl,"

Simultaneously they ejected themselves from the car and made their way towards the entrance of the bar. Jude swayed her hips a little more sexily as they neared closer to the door.

"Happy Halloween," she breathed out smoothly to the door man as he pulled the door back for her and Tommy, "You guys have a good night," he said in return, patting Tommy on the back as he entered the bar behind Jude.

Jude immediately grabbed an empty stool and positioned herself comfortably at the bar. Tommy fell into place beside her and leaned against the bar.

"Alright, task number nineteen and twenty," he read slowly:

**Task # 19 you and your partner must take turns taking body shots off one another. Have another patron or a bartender record each of you doing so, 100 points.**

**Task # 20 you and your partner must kiss and snap a picture or record a video, 50 points.**

Tommy grinned and flagged down one of the bartenders. Oh he was going to enjoy this task far too much. The bartender made his way over to them and politely asked what he could get for them. Jude leaned against the counter and smiled at him, "Can we please get two shots of tequila, lime and salt included," she requested. The bartender placed two empty shot glasses on top of the bar and quickly filled them full of top shelf tequila. He then placed a small bowl of limes in between the two of them and set a salt shaker beside it.

"Would you mind recording something for us?" Jude inquired. The bartender stayed where he stood and said, "Sure,"

Jude turned to Tommy, "You want to go first Quincy?" Tommy smiled and replied, "If you insist," Jude rolled her eyes and casually propped herself up onto the bar. The bartender stepped back slightly and watched Jude slide the shots and the chasers further down the counter so that she could lie down on top of the bar.

"Do you do this often?" Tommy asked skeptically, "Oh just put the damn salt on my stomach before I change my mind,"

The bartender hit the "record" button on the phone as Tommy shrugged his shoulders and lifted the salt shaker from the bar top and moved in closer to Jude. Slowly his tongue slid from his mouth and made contact with the smooth, exposed skin of Jude's abdomen. Jude immediately felt herself turn to mush as Tommy swirled in his tongue in slow, calculated circles around her belly button. He pulled back then and began to sprinkle salt over her stomach. He then set the shaker back down onto the bar and lifted his glass of tequila up with one hand and lifted the lime up with the other and delicately placed the lime between Jude's lips.

"Ready Harrison," he murmured and watched Jude nod her head before he quickly licked the salt off her stomach, took the shot like a pro and then leaned over towards Jude's mouth and placed his mouth to hers to capture the lime.

"That was hot," the bartender said as he hit the "stop" button on the phone and handed it back to Tommy, "We can get a patron to record you doing me," Jude raised an eye brow as she hopped off of the counter, "Mm, you wish Quincy," she said softly, causing Tommy to bite his bottom lip—actually, sometimes he did.

"You ready?" she asked as she pushed him against the bar. Tommy stared at her in awe as she took the phone from his hand and politely asked a man sitting a couple seats down from them if he'd record her doing what Tommy had just done to her; which the whole bar had witnessed.

After the man said yes Jude reached around Tommy for the salt shaker and slowly eased his shirt up until his stomach was exposed to her, "Hold your shirt up please," she ordered and Tommy did as he was told. Jude lowered her mouth first to Tommy's chest where she placed a light kiss against the center of his chest and then continued to feather kisses downward until she reached his belly button. She touched the tip of her tongue to his stomach and paused for a few seconds before teasingly swirling it around his belly button. After a couple of seconds spent on dampening his stomach, Jude pulled back and began to sprinkle salt onto the moist spot. She once against reached around Tommy and took hold of a lime, as she placed it between his lips she whispered, "Now we'll complete task nineteen, and knock twenty out of the way easily," and with that she licked the salt from his torso, swigged her shot quickly and then placed her lips to his to capture the lime.

Quickly she bit into it and then pulled it away from her mouth before she slowly leaned in and softly brushed her lips against Tommy's. For a split second Tommy paused, and then instinctively his hands went to her waist as his lips parted and his tongue darted out and met hers furiously. One of his hands slid up her back and he found himself cradling the back of her head as his hands fisted her hair. Jude whimpered quietly inside his mouth and almost as soon as it had started, the kiss ended.

Tommy pulled back and Jude blindly stepped away, "Okay, well," she breathed out, wiping at her mouth, "our tasks are complete, we can head back to G-Major," she said. Tommy took the phone from the Patron, slapped some bills onto the bar and followed Jude out of the bar.

A half hour later they arrived back at G-Major just as the other pairs were arriving. Tommy parked his car in the alley and he and Jude got out; Jude walking a few paces ahead of him. Suddenly she stopped and turned to him, "I almost forgot," she began, reaching inside of her coat pocket, "it's up to you what you want to do with them. I had a good time Quincy," and with that she entered through the side entrance of G-Major, leaving Tommy in the alley.

Tommy stood with the pictures in his hand, back portion of it facing it before he finally got the nerve to flip it over, "My god," he breathed out, and slid them into his pockets before he too entered G-Major.

Sadie and Darius were officially in charge of collecting and sorting through the phones to determine who had completed the most tasks and accumulated the most points. Tommy had casually slid into Darius' office to talk to Sadie, "Hey Quincy, what can I do for you," she asked, looking up from one of the phones.

"Okay, I didn't hand these over right away because I don't think Jude would necessarily want Darius to see this, but," he paused and pulled the strip of the pictures out of his pocket, "She did the photo booth task, I don't think I really need to show you but—"Sadie cut him off, "Oh no, you do because I won't believe it unless you show me that!" Quickly Tommy turned the photo strip towards Sadie just long enough for her to get the idea.

"Oh my god, I would have never thought," she laughed and smiled proudly, "Well I think now without a doubt you guys probably won this hands down. I'll go make the announcement,"

"What exactly is the prize," Tommy asked before Sadie walked out the door, "Well officially it's a spa day treatment or whatever, but unofficially it was to get you guys to talk again and have a good time…like old times," Sadie winked at him and stepped out into the lobby.

Hunter found Jude sitting on top of one of the tables that had earlier held the various snacks and beverages.

"Did you miss me?" He asked as he approached her. In all honesty, she hadn't thought about him once, and now she kind of felt bad.

She offered a smile and lied, "Of course, did you have fun? Tommy and I won," she laughed.

Hunter moved in closer to her and placed himself in between her legs, "It would have been a lot more fun with you," he told her as he placed a kiss against her lips. Jude kissed him back and smiled.

"You ready to get home," he quizzed as he softly caressed her thigh. Jude nodded her head and replied, "Yeah, Halloween is now officially over, let's get out of here,"


	6. The Secrets That We Keep

**Chapter Six:** The Secrets That We Keep

-----------------

_Secrets are made to be_

_found out with time_

-Charles Sanford

-------------------

Carefully Jude allowed the door to shut behind her as she shuffled into the darkened house, "Sis," the soft whisper almost caused Jude to jump right out of her skin as she slapped a hand against the door and fell back against it, shooting a glance towards the living room,

"Sades?" she questioned cautiously and watched as the side lamp beside the couch flickered on and her sister came into view.

"Yeah, it's me. I didn't see Hunter's car out front…" Sadie trailed off, giving her sister a moment to say something, "Oh," Jude said slowly, "He dropped me off down the street a little bit, and he didn't want to wake anyone up inside of the house. But you're awake still so I guess it was pointless," she finished with a shrug of her shoulders.

"So, did you have a good time with Tommy tonight?" Sadie inquires, quickly changing the subject and gaining a slight scoff from Jude.

Jude dropped her bag beside the door before taking a few steps into the living room, "You think you're clever don't you?"

Sadie grinned, "Not quite a thank you but it'll do," she replied, patting the empty space beside her on the couch. Jude sluggishly moves to occupy it, grimacing quietly as she lowers herself to the cushion.

"Are you okay?" Sadie asks out of concern, "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine…" Jude lies, resting back as comfortably as possible on the couch.

"You so set us up, you didn't even attempt to not make it obvious," Jude says slightly amused as she quickly changes the subject.

Sadie shrugs her shoulders, "Hey, it worked though! You guys are talking again…and maybe…it'll lead to something more," Sadie said, nudging Jude in the shoulder with her own suggestively.

Jude couldn't help but snort, "Please, the man is practically always reminding me how young and immature I am and let's not mention how he **freaked** out when he kissed me last year. I think the thought of commitment is hard for Tommy to wrap his pretty little head around,"

Sadie let out a tiny chuckle, "That's just Tommy's way of showing you he cares Jude, duh. He might be willing to be with you now…well, I guess if you weren't with Hunter,"

Jude rolls her eyes, "He's been with so many women Sades…he doesn't strike me as the 'settling down' type of guy. I don't want to be just another notch in his belt. I mean, just look at him and Angie,"

"You and I both know you're not and never will be just that to him," Sadie said convincingly, and she knew that somewhere inside, her little sister agreed.

Slapping her hands on her thighs and releasing a sigh, Jude slowly began to lift up from the couch, "Well, I guess it doesn't really matter now," she said while releasing a yawn and stretching out.

Sadie rolled her eyes, "If you say so. You should go get some sleep, we both have to work tomorrow," Jude nodded her head and together she and her sister made their way upstairs.

* * *

Jude rolled out of bed the next morning at eleven, though she had set her alarm to wake her at an earlier time, she had found herself slapping the nuisance off in her sleepy state and easily drifted back to sleep. She pushed her cover back from her body, stretched out on her mattress, whimpering quietly as a small pain shot through her back; effectively forcing her to remember last night. She sat up on the bed and then tossed her legs off the side and then made her way into her bathroom.

She then fell into her every day routine; quick shower, getting dressed, applying light make-up, and fixing her hair. She turned her back to the full length bathroom mirror and unhurriedly began to lift the back of her shirt up, and just as she had assumed, she saw the bruises forming. When she was finished looking at the damage from last night, she jogged down the stairs and found her father sitting at the island reading the morning paper.

"Hey dad," she greeted sweetly as she made her way over to him and administered a quick kiss to his cheek," Stuart looked up from his paper and smiled at his youngest daughter, "Morning sweetheart, did you have a good time at the party last night?"

Jude turned her back to her father momentarily as she moved towards the coffee pot, which finding empty she groaned, "Yeah," she replied dismissively as she turned back to face her father, "it was fun," she finished. Stuart set his paper down, "That's good. I guess Sadie didn't make any coffee this morning, sorry sweetie," he told her.

Jude smiled, "Oh its fine, I can grab some on my way to the studio, there's a Starbucks on the way," she told him and then asked, "You don't work today?" Stuart shook his head, "No, I'm just going to stay at home, get some relaxation in. I have to go out of town in a few days," He responded. Jude nodded her head, "Oh okay. How long are you going to be gone?" She wondered, "For about a week, maybe longer if they need me to. You and Sadie are mature enough to look after yourselves right?" Stuart quizzed, "Of course," Jude replied.

Their conversation was interrupted as Jude's phone vibrated against her hip. Quickly she fetched her phone from inside of her pocket and hit a button to bring her text messages open:

**Fr: Hunter**

**Where r u?**

**11:45 am Sat, Nov 1**

Sighing, Jude hit another button on her phone and opened up an empty box to respond to him:

**To: Hunter**

**Leaving now I'll be there soon.**

**11:46 am Sat, Nov 1**

She didn't get a response and decided she really should be heading out now, "Sorry dad, duty calls. I'll see you after work," She kissed his cheek again and fled from the kitchen.

* * *

With one hand tightly clutching her fresh cup of coffee Jude reached out with her free one and pulled her car door open and quickly sank down onto the seat. She set her cup in the designated cup holder between the driver's seat and the passengers and stuck her key into the ignition. With a crank of her key to the right she listened to her car spring to life and just as quickly it rattled back to complete silence.

Jude dropped her head in defeat against the steering wheel and groaned loudly, "You've got to be **kidding** me," this was the second time in a couple of weeks that her car had broken down on her, and of course it would choose today to stall when Hunter was already more or less pissed off at her for not being at the studio by now.

Lifting her head up from the wheel she pushed back out of her car and slammed the door shut, turning abruptly then to administer a solid kick to the front tire, "Ouch," she shouted out immediately after, instantly regretting her action.

"You just had to get your damn coffee from Starbucks instead of making it at home and going straight to work," she huffed as she propped herself up against the side of her Mustang.

"Having car trouble?" Her head whipped around when she caught wind of a familiar laugh, "Just a little," was her grumpy response, even though she was kind of glad he was there.

Tommy laughed again and made his way over to her, "Grab your stuff big eyes and you can catch a ride to work with me, I can have your car towed later," he offered. Jude turned her back to him, leaned inside of her open window and grabbed her coffee and bag. Tommy cleared his throat and averted his eyes in every which direction other than in front of him when he saw the back of her shirt slowly rise; momentarily missing the bruises that had surfaced.

Jude turned back to face him and saw him staring off at nothing in particular, "You're my knight in shiny leather," she declared as she brought her cup of coffee up to her chest, directly over her heart. Tommy smiled at her, "Well, I try. Come on girl," Jude slung her bag over her shoulder and followed Tommy across the street to his Viper.

He pulled the passenger door open for her and waited for her to get in before pushing the door shut behind her and then made his way around the car to the driver's side. She barely had time to buckle up before he was speeding away from the curb and darting out into traffic.

"Jeez, in a rush much?" she teased as she finally managed to buckle herself in. Tommy kept his eyes on the road and buckled himself in as well in one swift motion while letting out a small chuckle, "Not really. Karma will show up late like always and Angie and I will have our many clashes over creative differences," he stated.

Jude fidgeted in her seat and titled her head in his direction, "So," she began unsteadily, "you and Angie are getting pretty serious," she could almost feel the cocky smirk appearing on his face before it actually did.

Tommy couldn't help but snort as his mouth twisted into his trademark smirk she had expected, "No, it's not like that with me and Ang," he began to explain as Jude listened attentively to what he had to say, "She and I are old news…we both know and accept that fairly well," he trailed off as he signaled to make a right turn and followed through, Jude cut in before he could go on, "So it's just sex then?" she asked boldly, briefly remembering what she had walked in on last night.

Tommy cleared his throat and caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye, "Yeah, if we're being honest, I guess it is" Jude made a strangled sound and shook her head in disgust, "I don't see how someone can just go along with something like that,"

He chose his next words very carefully, "And what about you and Hunter?" he probed. She shrieked out a short laugh at his question and angled her body almost completely in his direction before she became serious, "It…hasn't happened yet," she admitted as Tommy turned down the alleyway to the back entrance of G-Major. He pulled his car into a spot and put it in park and then turned to look at her finally, raising an eyebrow he asked, "Have you _ever_…" she knew what he was hinting at.

Her face twisted into a disgusted expression as she begin to push out of his car, "Okay that I am not sharing with you Quincy," he laughed and followed suit behind her as she made her way towards the door.

"I'm going to take that as a no Harrison," he told her while pulling the door open for her, "If you must," she shot back waving a hand at him as they made their way into the building, "It's nothing to be embarrassed about or anything, you should be proud, I commend you," she stopped walking and smiled at him, "Well thank you for that Quincy, I'm glad I have your approval," Tommy offered a smile back and said, "Anytime. I had a good time last night, if I forgot to mention it,"

"Me too," she began, "And speaking of, when did you want to do the whole spa day thing," she asked, trying to change the subject from her non-existent sex life and his highly active one, "Assuming I'd go with you?" he teased as they entered the lobby. Jude couldn't help but snort, "Puh-lease, like you'd pass on showing up with a star of my caliber," Tommy rolled his eyes at her, "I'll get back to you on that when I take a look at my schedule," Jude nodded at him and caught sight of Hunter standing impatiently outside of Darius' office, "and I'll do the same. But I should get going, Hunter and I have a meeting with Darius…song approval day, wish us luck," Before he could respond he watched her saunter off across the room to join Hunter.

"I'd rather not," he mumbled under his breath before moving to start his own day.

* * *

Hunter and Jude seated themselves opposite of each other in front of Darius' desk and nervously sat in silence as he quietly listened to sampler of songs they had put together within the last couple of weeks for his approval. Working with Hunter hadn't been like working with Tommy, she didn't feed off of him in the same sense she did with Tommy, but they had managed to get three songs done, and she hoped that soon she could go back to working with her original producer.

Suddenly, in the midst of her silent thoughts, her voice from the CD abruptly stopped and she immediately found herself looking over at Darius nervously, "So…" she started, waiting for his verdict. She knew Darius was a tough critic.

He remained silent for a few seconds, alternating between eyeing her and Hunter. Finally he scribbled something down on a sticky note in front of him and opened his mouth to speak, "I think that "Close Your Eyes" and "Words I Couldn't Say" have great potential to be on the album, but the other one…you can ax that. The first two still are missing something. So figure it out and then get back to me. You have a week," and that was that. After he was done speaking he waved them off and quickly they scattered from his office.

Hunter didn't say anything to Jude after exiting Darius' office; he simply made his way across the room and into Studio B. Jude sighed and hesitantly followed. When she entered the room Hunter asked her to shut the door and obeying, she did so.

"Maybe if you showed up on time he'd take you seriously as an artist Jude," He hissed out, plopping down into a chair in front of the soundboard.

Jude scrunched her eyebrows together, "Excuse me? You never gave me a time to come in…" she began in her defense. Where the hell was this coming from?

"Whoring around with Quincy," he muttered quietly under his breath, but she heard him, "Actually my car stalled on me again this morning and your friend was nice enough to give me a ride here," She said more sternly. Who the hell did he think he was?

"A ride, right," Hunter shot back sourly. So this was what this was really about, last night. Jude shook her head, "You know what, if you're going to be a jerk, I'm going home," she announced and turned quickly for the door.

Hunter sprang up from his seat and grasped her wrist, "No, I'm sorry…Jude…." He paused and released her wrist, "I'm sorry" he repeated, "I've been so stressed out trying to make a good impression here that I haven't been myself…and I've been taking it out on you,"

You could say that again, Jude thought.

She released a deep breath and immediately calmed down, "It's okay…" even though she wasn't quite sure it was, "We have a week to rework the two songs and show them to D again. We can do it. We just need to work together," she encouraged him. Hunter finally loosened up and offered a genuine smile to her, "You're right, we can do this," he said with assurance as he pulled her into a loose hug. He felt Jude wrap her arms around him and go stiff while releasing a short groan.

"You okay?" He asked concerned, slowly releasing her from his arms and holding her back to look at her, "Yeah…" she trailed off and bit her bottom lip, "yeah," she repeated with a nod of her head.

Hunter's face fell again, "Oh," he said understanding, "last night—"

Jude cut in, "Doesn't matter, its okay." She offered a faulty smile, "really," she tried to assure him.

"I really am sorry," He told her, "I know," she replied, "It won't happen again," he promised and pulled her into a loose hug once again. She closed her eyes and settled against his chest, silently hoping that it never did.

After a moment she slid out of his arms, "So, shall we get to work?" She suggested. With a nod Hunter settled back into his chair and Jude took a seat beside him.

She watched as Hunter made some adjustments on the board and then glanced over at her, "Let's try re-listening to the song…and I don't know…stepping into Darius' perspective…" he said, "Okay sounds like a plan. Then if we need to change some lyrics up we can do that and add more if necessary," Hunter nodded his head and turned to his lap top, moving his hand over the mouse and pulling open "Close Your Eyes" Together they listened and tried to make fitting adjustments.

A couple of hours passed and by now Jude was comfortably strewn out on the couch against the wall of the studio. Hunter remained in front of the soundboard fidgeting with various buttons as Jude listened in, yawning in between conversing with him. Her eyes were becoming tired, along with her body, and she wanted nothing more than to sleep.

A throat cleared in the door, "Knock, knock," Jude's drifting eyes slowly fluttered open and lingered over towards the doorway where Tommy was standing against the frame.

"Hey," she said sleepily, slowly pushing up into a sitting position on the couch. Tommy smiled and leaned against the frame of the door, "Hey," he said back, watching as Hunter finally turned to look at him.

"You guys hard at work?" He questioned, hoping he'd be able to take Jude off of Hunter's hands for a while.

Hunter nodded and turned his attention back to the soundboard, "Well," he began, "at least I am," he finished, letting out a slight chuckle as he tossed a crumpled piece of paper over at Jude on the couch.

It successfully managed to hit Jude in the forehead, "Hey! I have you know I'm working very hard!" She shot back, chucking the paper back across the room and hitting Hunter in the back of the head.

"Would you two maybe want to get a bite to eat? It's dinner time…" Tommy extended his offer to them both, knowing that Hunter would decline to stay and work on her music, "I really should keep at this…Jude you could go if you want," Hunter said without looking over at either of them. Jude glanced at Hunter and then focused her attention back on Tommy.

"Um, yeah sure…food sounds good. My stomach has actually been growling at me for the past hour, so sure!" She exclaimed as she shot up from the couch, instantly forcing herself to suppress the loud groan that should have accompanied her quick movements. Instead she sighed and smiled at Tommy.

"You two have fun. Jude, you can call it a day…but be back in tomorrow at ten sharp," Hunter said, turning in his chair to face her, "You got it," she replied, walking over to him and pecking him quickly on the lips before turning and making her way to where Tommy stood in the door way.

"Ready," she announced, and together the two of them strode out into the lobby and out the back door.  
When they arrived in the back alley and approached Tommy's Viper they spotted Angie leaning against it. Jude paused and turned to glance at Tommy who shrugged his shoulders.

"Ang…" he began curiously. Angie smiled at him and ignored Jude, "We made plans…remember…" clearly, he had forgotten.

"Oh, yeah…well, see I drove Jude in today so we were actually going to go get some dinner and then I was going to drop her off…maybe some other time," he said, quickly dismissing her and nodding for Jude to get in the car.

Angie followed Tommy around to the driver side of the Viper as Jude slipped into the passenger side. From inside she could hear their muffled conversation.

"We could hook up after you drop Jude off…" she heard Angie suggest and found herself rolling her eyes as she continued to eavesdrop, "….let's just make other plans Ang. I'm kind of tired and I think I just want to crash after I take her home," for some reason Jude found herself smiling. He was totally blowing her off.

After Angie finally took "another time" as Tommy's final answer, he slid into his car and buckled up.

"You could have um…hung out with her," she said, saying hung out suggestively, verbally emphasizing the words with air quotes. Tommy smirked as he inserted his key into the ignition, "Nah, she'll live. Besides, it's been a while since we've just been able to do this…excluding last night…you know?" Jude nodded her head and settled back in her seat as Tommy began to pull out of the alley.

"We can catch up over dinner…last night between all the body shots and indecent exposure we didn't really have much time to talk," Tommy said, eliciting a giggle from Jude in response.

She grinned, "Oh you know you enjoyed the exposure Quincy," she joked. Tommy laughed and smiled wider, "Okay…maybe just a little…" he admitted, knowing that his words were a huge understatement. He had a lot of memorabilia from the night.

They continued with their small talk for a couple more minutes until they finally reached their destination and Tommy pulled the Viper up alongside the curb. In unison they ejected themselves from the car and made their way into the familiar Thai restaurant.

Jude took in the scents as the passed through the door way and groaned, "Oh my god I'm starving," Tommy laughed as they made their way over to an empty table. Jude sat down and looked up at him, "What do you want?" He asked, Jude thought for a second and then said, "The usual," Tommy gave a quick nod and headed towards the counter.

Ten minutes later they had their food and were sitting together at the table directly across from one another.

"So," Tommy began, "how is it going in the studio with Hunter?" He finished. He watched Jude's face as she remained quite for a moment before she cleared her throat and answered, "You want the truth…" she trailed off and waited for him to nod or say "yes" when he did she continued, "It's awful…I mean, don't get me wrong…he's a great guy and has potential to be a fantastic producer…he just needs the right artist, and I don't think that's me."

Tommy sat his chop sticks down and glanced across the table at her. He was relieved that she hadn't said she liked working with Hunter more than with him, "What does D think of the material?" He quizzed. Jude swallowed her food, "Well, he liked two of the three songs we showed him today…well, he said they have potential. Honestly, I think he was just being nice. We have a week to make some modifications, which I can't find anything to modify…the songs just aren't…I don't know, good enough? I know I wrote them…I just don't think Hunter and I mesh well when it comes to making music." She admitted.

Shifting in his seat Tommy cleared his throat, "And what about meshing as um…you know… a couple?" Jude shifted in her seat now, "Um…we…mesh well," she said hesitantly, not really wanting to talk about her relationship with Hunter.

Tommy cleared his throat again, shortly after, a moment of silence fell between the two of them, "I can take a hint," he laughed as he finished up his food. Jude just laughed along with him and did the same.

When they finished eating their dinner Tommy drove her home like he said he would. They made small talk on the ride over, tension lingering in the air. Their conversation came to a stop as his Viper came to slow halt in front of her house.

Casually Jude slid her seat belt from her body and looked over at him, "Thanks for dinner…it was good hanging out again. I missed you Quincy," she confessed softly. Tommy extended his hand over to where she was sitting and gently placed his hand to her cheek, "I kind of missed you too Harrison," he said, before he slid his hand away from her face and playfully tapped her in the jaw with his fist.

Jude gasped, feigning shock and punched him in the arm intentionally harder than he had hit her, "Ow, that hurt," he whined, tenderly touching his arm, "Please, that was a love tap wimp," Jude teased, "So that means you love me then?" Tommy asked with a raised brow, "More or less," she replied casually as she slid out of his car.

Leaning against the door she ducked her head down so that she could see him and smiled, "I'll see you tomorrow Quincy," He nodded and as she went to shut the door he stopped her, "Hey," She lowered her body once more to where she could see him, "Yeah?" She asked, waiting for him, "The spa…you want to go with me…if not tomorrow then maybe the day after?" She thought about it for a moment, "Yeah, I'd like that. I'll see how it goes in the studio tomorrow and then get back to you. Drive safe now Quincy….goodnight," With that she gave the door a gentle push, turned her back to the car, and walked the short distance to her front door.


	7. Spa Day

**Chapter Seven:** Spa Day

Jude stepped out of the lime green buggy, already trailing behind Sadie who at this point was nearly halfway through the back entrance of G-Major. With a bump of her hip to the car door Jude began a slow stride behind her sister's trail, the cool air piercing her pale skin, but not seeming to faze her at all.

The door slapped shut behind her upon entering into the lobby; surprisingly she had managed to arrive before Hunter had requested her to be there. That was the benefit of catching a ride to work with her sister, who always showed up early. The lobby was practically empty, aside from Sadie, Darius, herself and a few other people, but then again it was a Sunday.

Glancing down at her watch Jude released a heavy yawn before gazing back up at her sister, "Oh my god I don't even know how you function this early," Sadie rolled her eyes at her sister and sauntered off to her desk, "It's only seven Jude, it's not that early," came her over the shoulder response.

"To Jude that's like four in the morning," Jude turned slowly in the direction of the low, raspy, masculine voice and offered a soft smile, "See, Quincy gets me," she pointed in his direction for effect and then turned once again to face Sadie who was busy getting herself situated at her desk and now ignoring the two of them.

Jude turned back around and fell into place at Tommy's side, "My car really needs to stop breaking down on me," she muttered, a yawn once again escaping from her mouth as the two of them began walking in unison to Hospitality, "Well it's safe and sound in the shop now so soon you won't need to wake up so early to ride with Sadie. But until then, a good cup of coffee should do the trick," Tommy replied with a nudge of his shoulder to Jude's.

Immediately after they entered Hospitality Jude stopped following Tommy and leaned tiredly against the counter while he continued to make his way over to the cabinets.

"Pour me a cup please," she said softly as her chin slowly lowered down to the surface of the counter, "Black?" Tommy questioned as he kept his back to her, "Always," came her muffled response.

Tommy pulled two mugs down from the cabinet before making his way over to the coffee pot where he continued to pour two cups of steaming hot black coffee.

"Here you go superstar," he said as he carefully lowered the mug down in front of her. Jude slowly pushed up from the counter and generously reached out for the mug.

"Why are you here so early?" she questioned while settling her back up against the counter. Tommy smiled and took a sip of his coffee as he positioned his body to mirror hers, "Some last minute mixing and stuff. I'm quite the perfectionist," he replied, making a face as he swallowed some of the black contents in his cup, "Ah yes, I have experienced the perfectionist days…you were my producer once you know," she said with a laugh as she took a big sip of her coffee. Tommy turned and moved towards the other counter, desperately in search of the sugar, "I seem to remember that," he said somewhat sadly as he began to sift sugar into his mug.

Jude watched silently as half of the jar of sugar disappeared inside of Tommy's cup, "Do you want coffee with that sugar?"

He smirked as he turned back to face her, "Did you want to do the spa thing today?" he asked, quickly changing the subject. Jude lowered her now empty mug from her mouth and set it down on the counter, "Well," she began hesitantly, "Hunter and I are supposed to do some more mixing today…and some writing and possibly a bit of recording if we get anywhere with lyrics…" Tommy slowly made his way back over to her as he downed his now overly sweetened coffee, "Well, it's seven, you weren't supposed to be here until ten…Hunter isn't in yet…we could start some of the mixing and stuff, and then we could drive up to the spa and spend the day there…if you wanted," Tommy said suggestively.

Jude pondered the suggestion for a moment. Silently she weighed out the pros and cons of working without Hunter, and eventually the pros won.

"That seems harmless enough, hell Hunter might even be relieved that he won't have much to do," Jude said, and together she and Tommy made their way over to studio B.

* * *

Alongside Tommy, Jude breezed through the automatic sliding doors of the day spa and almost instantly felt relaxed.

"Oh my god I'm going to enjoy this," she murmured softly while continuing to look around the lobby in fascination as Tommy made his way to the front desk. Tommy chuckled at how cute she looked admiring the place, apparently this wasn't something she did.

After he checked them in he made his way back to her side and casually draped his arm around her waist, "Is this your first time?" Jude turned and settled in his arms, "How could you tell?" she countered, "You look like a kid in a candy store," he replied as he guided them down a narrow hallway and stopped in front of a door.

"You can change in there. I'll be right next door," With that he left her standing in front of the door and disappeared inside of the room right beside hers. Jude stepped forward then and entered her room.

She allowed the door to shut behind her and turned the lock effortlessly before making her way over to a table in the center of the room where a towel lay neatly folded beside a big fluffy robe. Carelessly she slipped out of her clothes and left them in a pile where the robe once sat on top of the table. She turned then and noticed another door along the wall, which she assumed must have led directly into Tommy's room.

Without a second thought she reached out and turned the knob, "You ready Quin—"her words fell short as she stumbled into the room and found Tommy in the midst of wrapping a towel around his waist.

"I…am so sorry," she could feel her cheeks burning red as she turned her back to him. Tommy smiled and finished wrapping his towel tightly around his waist, "You can look now," he assured her and slowly she turned back to face him, that slight look of embarrassment still plastered on her face, "Can you excuse me for just a second?" she asked, and watched him nod before she slipped back into her room and reappeared back in the doorway a few seconds later.

Tommy eyed her skeptically as she made her way towards him, arms hidden securely behind her back, and paused in front of him. "I'm not sure I like the look on your face…" he began, and surely enough with one hand Jude snatched his towel from his waist and with her hand snapped a photo of a naked Tommy Q with her cell phone.

"And now I have one of you," she said with a grin. "Jude!" Tommy shouted, snatching his towel up from the floor and putting it back around his waist, this time holding onto it securely with one hand before he darted after Jude and her phone.

"Hey it's only fair Quincy!" she screamed over her shoulder as she sprinted back into her room. "Hand it over Harrison! I didn't get to see actual…body parts," he shot back in protest.

Laughing harder Jude started running around the table in the room, "It's not that big of a deal Quincy…really," she laughed harder and watched him pause, his ego obviously bruised. He watched her cautiously as she paused; now obviously feeling sorry for him. He took that as his opportunity to catch her. Before Jude knew it, and could prevent it Tommy had somehow managed to slide under the table and tackle her to the ground.

"Mmph" she groaned loudly as her back came into contact with the ground. Her cell phone slid out of her hand and glided halfway across the room and into a corner.

"I was just kidding," she breathed out as she looked up at Tommy who was spread out on top of her, "I know…I just wanted an excuse to do this," Jude's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion and before she knew it Tommy was lowering his mouth towards hers.

Knock. Knock.

The loud knock interrupted what could have been a very good moment. Tommy quickly pushed up from the floor and offered a hand out to help Jude up as well before he walked over to her door and pulled it open.

One of the masseuses' stood at the door, "Are you ready Mr. Quincy?" Tommy glanced over his shoulder at Jude, "Yeah we're ready," he replied and stepped out into the hall. Jude moved to follow but her cell phone rang, "Um, I'll meet you in a second…I know where to go. I'm going to switch into my towel anyway," Tommy nodded and left her.

Jude made her way across the room and picked her cell phone up.

**1 missed call  
Hunter**

Her phone vibrated in her hand and she noticed the message icon appear in the corner.

**Fr: Hunter**

**Where the hell r u**

**11:00 am Sun, Nov 2**

Not bothering to respond or read the next message that followed, Jude slid her finger over the end button, held it down, and watched her screen go black before she tossed it inside of her bag; she'd deal with him later. She then quickly changed from her robe to the fluffy white towel that sat beside her clothes on the table.

A few minutes later she met Tommy down the hall in the room they had been assigned for massages. Tommy was already sprawled out on one of the tables getting massaged when she entered the room. Briefly he lifted his head to look at her, "Anyone important?" Tommy asked, before lowering his head again.

"Wrong number," she lied as she made her way over to the other table and hoisted herself up.

Casually she gathered her hair up into a messy bun, exposing more of already exposed back. Tommy caught of a glimpse of the subtle movement from the side of his eye and found them hovering in the general direction. His eyes caught and focused on tiny purplish markings that slightly peeked up above the tip of Jude's towel. He found himself frowning as his eyebrows scrunched together in concentration.

"What happened to your back?" His voice caused her to turn around to face him, and she was mentally kicking herself that she hadn't been more cautious.

Quickly she replied, "Oh I slipped in the kitchen the other night and fell backwards…I hit my back pretty hard against one of the cabinets," she didn't miss a beat in her fabrication, but honestly hoped he believed her; she didn't feel like explaining the real reasoning behind the markings.

_How they had ended up in this predicament was beyond her. One minute she was sitting in the passenger seat twiddling her thumbs while he was busy driving her home. Then they were stopping at the park, lost in some irrelevant conversation._

_Somehow she was out of her seat belt shortly after and his mouth was on hers, then his hands. She wasn't sure how it had happened so smoothly but shortly after she was no longer sitting in the passenger seat, she was sitting in the driver's seat intimately straddling him._

_Sure they had made out before, and really she had no objections to that, but tonight it seemed different; Hunter seemed to expect more._

_"I think it's time for that spanking Miss Harrison," he murmured against her lips before gently sinking his teeth into her bottom lip. Jude groaned softly and went back to kissing him after he released her lip. His hands began to trail up the front of her shirt and Jude immediately found hers trailing after them trying to push them away, "I think I should go home now," she muttered as she attempted to get off of his lap._

_"Mm in a minute baby," this time his hands made an attempt to go under her skirt. Jude shifted uncomfortably and once again made an attempt to move._

_"I think I should go—"_

_"Dammit Jude," he shoved her backwards hard against his steering wheel, "You're a fucking tease!" he shoved her twice more and Jude reached over towards the door handle and without a word slid out of the car._

_"I'll get home myself," she spit out as she reached over to the passenger seat and snatched her bag up._

Jude snapped out of her momentary day dream and glanced over at Tommy. Had he bought it?

"Damn, you always were such a klutz," he laughed and Jude hesitantly joined in before releasing a soft sigh of relief.

"Yeah, that's me," she murmured before lowering herself onto her stomach on the table.


End file.
